Highlights:
- The UK economy is suffering the most among the G7 countries.
- The country's economy shrank by 0.3% in the quarter to September.
The UK's economic contraction was revised to 0.3% for the third quarter of this year from 0.2%, announced last month. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday showed that the economy took a bigger hit than was earlier estimated. The latest data also bring the economy 0.8% lower than prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Previous estimates had shown the economy was 0.4% down against the pre-COVID period.
The revisions from the ONS show that the UK economy is suffering the most among the G7 countries. Other members of the group have witnessed a smaller fall in the economy. Besides the UK, Japan was the only nation with a fall of 0.2%. Both US and Canada saw economic growth of about 0.7% in the three months to September, while Italy reported a 0.5% growth. Germany was up 0.4%, and France posted a 0.2% economic growth.
Image source: iQoncept, Shutterstock.com
According to experts, the UK's economic contraction reflects a bigger decline in manufacturing and production than previously projected. The changing consumer behaviour could cause this decline due to soaring inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, leading to a fall in demand. Supply chain issues caused by geopolitical tensions have also aggravated the situation.
In the wake of this information, let us look at three mid-cap stocks and how they have been performing.
Diploma Plc (LON: DPLM)
Diploma Plc is an FTSE 250 constituent in the business of supplying specialised technical products. As of 23 December 2022, the company has a market capitalisation of £3,501.00 million, and the EPS stands at 0.44. Its stock was trading 0.78% lower at GBX 2,786.00 as of Friday morning at 8:25 am GMT. DPLM’s 12-month return is negative at -16.49%.
Clarkson Plc (LON: CKN)
The London-headquartered firm offers integrated shipping services. The FTSE 250 firm’s market cap is £953.62 million as of 23 December, while its EPS stands at 1.65. The stock was trading at GBX 3,130.00, up 0.48% as of Friday morning at 8:29 am GMT. In the past year, the stock value has slipped by more than 15%.
Sirius Real Estate LD (LON: SRE)
Sirius Real Estate provides workspace to corporates in Germany. It presently has a market capitalisation of £861.91 million and an EPS of 0.13. The FTSE 250 constituent has offered a negative return of -45.52% on a 12-month basis and -47.52% on a year-to-date basis at the time of writing. As of Friday morning, 8:32 am GMT, the stock was trading 1.23% higher at GBX 74.20.
Note: The above content constitutes a very preliminary observation or view based on market 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.