5 companies that may grab headlines this year

Highlights 

• In 2021, the FTSE 100 Index gave a return of over 14%, while the FTSE 250 Index gave a return of over 12%.
• Investing during pandemic has been a roller coaster ride for portfolios as the markets react to changes in the global market, with supply chain crisis, energy crisis, rising inflation and high volatility in cryptocurrencies.

Investing during pandemic has been a roller coaster ride for portfolios as the markets react to changes in the global market, with supply chain crisis, energy crisis, rising inflation and high volatility in cryptocurrencies. However, stock market could see a more difficult year with rising inflation rates.

The UK stock market ended the final trading session of 2021 in the red as the benchmark index FTSE100 declined by 0.25% to close at 7,384 on Friday. Overall, the stock market gave a good year, with the benchmark index, FTSE100 rallying 14% during the year.

On 4 January, the traders were in a jubilant mood as the FTSE 100 index surged more than 1% in the first session of the year. Looking at the current conditions and market trends, here are the five companies that may grab headlines this year. 

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1. BP Plc (LON: BP.)

FTSE 100 Index constituent BP Plc is a Global oil and gas company operates in Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa. As the global oil price increased, the company’s second half of 2021, outperformed the first half and has gained around a third of its value year-to-date. However, it is still lower than its January 2020 value.  The company said it would use its cash flows to buy back an additional US $1.25 billion of shares. In the third quarter, the gas supply crisis also drove the company’s profit to £2.4 billion. Now, it is also looking to shift away from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Further, in northeast England it is planning to construct a large-scale green hydrogen production plant.  BP Plc’s shares were trading at GBX 343.90 on 4 January 2022 around 10.45 am, up by  3.93%, and its market cap is £65,106.37 million.

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2. Marks & Spencer Group Plc (LON: MKS)

FTSE 250 Index constituent Marks & Spencer Group Plc is a multinational retail company that specializes in clothing, home and food products. The company has launched an expansive range of food products in 150 new countries through British Corner Shop’s export platform and the company needs to prove to investors that the increase in sale over the past year isn’t temporary. 

The company is also evolving its relationships with Nobody’s Child by investing in the eco-friendly and affordable fashion brand, with around 25% interest to utilize investment and infrastructure opportunities to scale the business. With partnership with delivery form Ocado the company’s sales looks encouraging and now the question is whether the company will increase its interest in Ocado. Although, the company’s profit has seen upgrades, the company still has a long way to go to reclaim its FTSE 100 position that it lost in 2019. 

Marks & Spencer Group Plc’s shares were trading at GBX 241.50 on 4 January 2022 around 10.45 am, up by 4.28%, and its market cap is £4,532.29 million.

3. Barclays Plc (LON: BARC)

FTSE 100 constituent Barclays Plc is a UK-based multinational universal bank and has two main divisions: Barclays UK and Barclays International. The Bank of England increased interest rates from 0.1% to 0.25 to prevent rising inflation, giving the banking sector a positive end to the year 2021.

Since the beginning of 2021, Barclays share prices increased by 25% due to high mortgage lending in UK and boom in investment banking fees. The profit of bank almost doubled in its third quarter to £2 billion and has also released bad debt provisions of over £600 million due to consumer recovery.  Recently, the bank has entered into partnership to bring “buy now, pay later” payment method to allow customers to spend the cost of certain purchases over several installments between three to 48 months. In August, the bank partnered with Synchrony Bank to acquire a portfolio of US co-branded and private label credit card accounts and receivable issued in partnership with the Gap, Inc.    

Barclays Plc’s shares were trading at GBX 192.90 on 4 January 2022 around 10.45 am, up by 3.18%, and its market cap is £31,323.72 million.

Also Read: Should you buy these 3 FTSE mortgage stocks for the long term?

4. BT Group Plc (LON: BT.A)

FTSE 100 constituent BT Group Plc is a UK-based leading telecommunications and network provider with operations in around 180 countries. In 2021, the company gained around 50% from January to June and then showed a down trend of 35% from June to November before picking up the pace again. Altice founderPatrick Drahi acquired 18% stake in the company to become the largest shareholders for over £3 billion. 

In December, the company launched a new business-wide plan accelerate access to transformative technology and ultrafast networks, building a extensive, bigger talent pool and driving the faster adoption of sustainable practices.  The company aims to achieve an additional £2 billion of cost savings by 2024 and in recent trading update its shares also received a boost after the company restores its divided and updated its cost-savings target.  

BT Group Plc’s shares were trading at GBX 171.75 on 4 January 2022 around 11 am, up by 1.30%, and its market cap is £ 16,818.19 million.

5. Scancell Holdings Plc (LON:SCLP)

Scancell Holding Plc is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company that is engaged in development of new classes of competitive therapeutics for the treatment of cancer and infectious disease. The company together with Nottingham’s two universities decided to modify its vaccine technology to develop covid vaccine during pandemic with £2 million funding from the UK’s innovation agency.

The company developed the vaccines to persuade T-cell immune responses in the body to identify and kill infected cells, to offer longer-lasting immunity through spring-powered injectors that use a narrow steam of fluid to pierce the skin. Scancell’s two largest shareholders are the Singaporean Vulpes Life Science Fund and the US health investor Redmile.   

Scancell Holdings Plc’s shares were trading at GBX 21.50 on 4 January 2022 around 11 am, up by 7.50%, and its market cap is £ 163.04 million.

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