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Highlights
- UK stock markets are likely to trade cautiously ahead of the Bank of England’s policy meeting on 23 September.
- Some of the key stocks in focus include- AstraZeneca, ALBA Mineral Resources, Oxford Biomedica Plc.
The UK stock markets are likely to have a cautious week ahead as investors will keep a close eye on the Bank of England (BoE) policy meeting, which will take place on 23 September (Thursday). At the last policy meeting, the BoE had predicted that inflation in the UK could spike to 4% by the end of this year but will gradually drop to 2.5% by 2022. The central bank’s forecast might prove correct as inflation in the UK rose to 3.2% from 2% in August, which was the sharpest rise and the highest level in almost a decade.
As per market experts, FTSE100 is expected to trade in a range, near to 7000 marks ahead of the policy meeting with major movement expected in the stock market and sterling if BoE decides to take a step to curb inflation.
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Let us look at FTSE listed stocks that are in focus today:
AstraZeneca Plc (LON: AZN)
FTSE100 listed company focuses on the research and development of prescription medicines to treat multiple high-risk diseases. The company sells its medicine under various brand names and was one of the critical companies that developed the Covid-19 vaccine.
The company has done breakthrough research in breast cancer medicine. Its new medicine, DESTINY-Breast03, Enhertu has shown efficiency in reducing the risk of disease progression or death by 72% in a patient. Enhertu, phase 3 trial suggest that the medicine might be considered a new standard to treat patients. AstraZeneca Plc has reported good revenue growth of USD 26,617 million in FY20. Also, the company expects its core earnings per share (EPS) to rise to USD 4.75 to 5 in FY21.
AstraZeneca Plc shares trade at GBX 8,248, up by 2.29% on 20 September at 9:20 am GMT+1 with a market cap of £124,906 million.
ALBA Mineral Resources Plc (LON:ALBA)
The company engages in the exploration and production of industrial base metals and precious metals.
The company’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Dragonfire Mining Limited, has been granted a new mineral exploration licence for a period of six years. The new licence will help the company to establish full control of Dolgellau Gold Field. In addition, the company has an investment in seven mining projects which mines diversified base metals. In most projects, it holds over 90% ownership, which could benefit the company in terms of revenue and profitability.
ALBA Mineral Resources Plc shares trade at GBX 0.27, up by 6.00% on 20 September at 9:20 am GMT+1 with a market cap of £16.01 million.
Oxford Biomedica Plc (LON: OXB)
The company operates a fully integrated gene and cell therapy company with valuable in-house developed products to treat oncology, ophthalmology and many more. The company currently employees over 550 people.
The company’s does research and development work and also carries out contract manufacturing for other pharma companies. The company has raised its revenue and EBITDA forecast for the full year 2021 after it received an additional Covid-19 supply contract from AstraZeneca.
Oxford Biomedica Plc shares trade at GBX 1,428, down by 0.14% on 20 September at 9:20 am GMT+1 with a market cap of £1,182 million.
