These are the most-traded shares across UK markets last week. The figures provide a great insight into the way investors are thinking and where there could be opportunities.
While this information is only a small sample of the UK stockmarket, it can provide a great starting point for further research.
Most-bought blue-chip stocks
Top five most bought FTSE 100 shares according to the UK’s largest online stockbroker, Hargreaves Lansdown:
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| 1 | Vodafone Group | (LSE: VOD) |
| 2 | Sainsbury | (LSE: SBRY) |
| 3 | United Utilities Group | (LSE: UU.) |
| 4 | GSK | (LSE: GSK) |
| 5 | Haleon | (LSE: HLN) |
The most-bought list of FTSE 100 stocks has been dominated by resource companies in recent weeks. However, last week it seems there was a big change in investor sentiment.
Commodity stocks are now seemingly out of favour. They’ve been replaced by blue-chip utilities, telecom, healthcare and retail.
Water is one of the market’s most defensive sectors. Not only is there always a demand for water, but most companies have a monopoly over the regions they operate. They’re also usually able to hike bills in line with inflation. This makes them the perfect stocks to own to weather inflationary forces, which might explain why United Utilities was one of the most-bought FTSE 100 stocks last week.
GSK and Haleon also proved popular following sudden share price falls. Both companies are exposed to litigation related to the heartburn drug Zantac. This could lump the companies with multi-billion dollar legal bills, and the market has been selling the stocks rather than risk exposure to rising costs.
Most-bought small and mid-cap stocks
The most-bought non-blue-chip stocks on the Freetrade, IG Group and Hargreaves Lansdown platforms in no particular order:
| ITM power plc | (LSE: ITM) |
| Boohoo | (LSE: BOO) |
| Revolution Beauty Group | (LSE: REVB) |
It was a quiet week for small and mid-cap stocks last week.
Revolution Beauty Group bucked the trend, earning itself a place on the list of the most-bought stocks even though the firm warned investors that it could have to restate its financial position.
In a trading update published on 11 August, the company told investors that its auditors have “raised certain accounting issues with management,” in preparation of its accounts for the period ending 28 February.
The update noted that these issues could “have a material impact on the results,” although it is confident that its financial position reported at the end of July (net debt of £21.2m) is reliable and there’s plenty of headroom on its borrowing facilities to provide “sufficient liquidity” for the future.
Most-bought investment trusts
Top five most bought investment trusts according to Barclays Smart Investor:
| 1 | Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust | (LSE: SMT) |
| 2 | Greencoat UK Wind | (LSE: UKW) |
| 3 | The Renewables Infrastructure Group | (LSE: TRIG) |
| 4 | Polar Capital Technology Trust | (LSE: PCT) |
| 5 | City of London Investment Trust | (LSE: CTY) |
Scottish Mortgage remained the most popular investment trust on the Barclays Smart Investor platform. But the others on the list suggest investors are preparing for a period of prolonged uncertainty, and they seem to be sheltering in trusts with exposure to green energy.
Greencoat UK Wind owns and operates a portfolio of wind farms around the UK. Meanwhile, the Renewables Infrastructure Group owns and operates a portfolio of renewable energy assets. In an increasingly uncertain economic climate, with rising hydrocarbon prices, money is flooding into green energy assets, which have the potential to offer secure, inflation-linked returns as well as a steady income for investors.
Sources:
https://www.hl.co.uk/shares/top-of-the-stocks
https://www.ig.com/uk/shares/most-traded-stocks-uk
https://freetrade.io/most-traded-shares#uk-most-traded-shares
https://www.barclays.co.uk/smart-investor/investments/most-popular/investment-trusts/
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