SHEL, AZN, HSBA: How did these blue-chip stocks fare in 2022?

Highlights:

• UK's public borrowing jumped to £22 billion in November.
• The borrowing, which is the difference between spending and tax income, was £13.9 billion higher than in the same month last year.

Amid the rising inflation and the government's steps to keep it under control and offer support to households and businesses, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed that UK's public borrowing jumped to £22 billion in November.

This is the highest-ever level recorded in November since the monthly records began as soaring debt interest payments push the deficit higher.

The borrowing, which is the difference between spending and tax income, stood £13.9 billion higher than in the same month last year. This indicated that the public sector spent more money than it earned.

Image source: ShutterstockProfessional, Shutterstock

ONS numbers also showed that the total public sector spending for November hit £98.9 billion. On the other hand, the ONS said that the day-to-day government spending rose by £13.5 billion to £82bn for November.

The rise was also fuelled by government spending on supporting households with the cost of living payments as well as the support for their energy bills. Businesses, too, have been receiving support from the government with the energy bills, which will stay in place till 31 March 2023. The Treasury is yet to make any announcements regarding its plans to support the businesses after it.

As the government borrowing hits the highest-ever levels for November, Kalkine Media® explores some blue-chip stocks that investors can explore.

Shell plc (LON: SHEL)

Shell is an oil and gas giant and one of the world's largest energy producers. It holds a market cap of £165,092.14 million and an EPS of 2.59 as of 22 December 2022. The stock has provided a return of more than 46% on both a 12-month and year-to-date basis at the time of writing. SHEL shares traded at GBX 2,377.00, up 0.96% as of 8:22 am GMT on Thursday.

AstraZeneca plc (LON: AZN)

Another blue-chip stock listed on the FTSE 100 index is AstraZeneca, a UK-based pharma giant. The firm enjoys a market cap of £174,228.95 million, along with an EPS of 0.08 as of 22 December. At the time of writing, AstraZeneca's 12-month return stood at 30.69%. The year-to-date return also came close at 29.57%. AZN traded 0.09% higher at GBX 11,254 as of 8:28 am GMT on Thursday.

HSBC Holdings Plc (LON: HSBA)

HSBC is among the world's leading banking and financial services providers. It is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index and has a market cap of £102,098.08 million. The EPS stands at 0.62 as of  22 December 2022, and the stock's one-year return is 15.32%. As of 8:32 am GMT on Thursday, the stock traded at GBX 513.50, up 0.43%.

Note: The above content constitutes a very preliminary observation or view based on industry trends and is of limited scope without any in-depth fundamental valuation or technical analysis. Any interest in stocks or sectors should be thoroughly evaluated taking into consideration the associated risks.