Amid tumbling stocks, here are the shares most bought by UK investors last week

The UK stock markets tumbled last week, with the FTSE 100 shredding almost 500 points by Friday. This tells us that investors are becoming increasingly concerned about the ongoing crisis in Ukraine. 

So, following the recent stock market slump, how have UK investors been reacting? Let’s take a look at the list of the most-bought shares last week.

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What shares have UK investors been buying recently?

According to the share purchases among Hargreaves Lansdown clients, UK investors put their faith in mining companies, banks and oil last week.

Here’s the full list of the ten most-bought shares based on the number of deals:

Most bought shares: the top three

As the table above shows, two mining companies proved a popular bet among UK investors last week. Let’s take a closer look at the top three.

1. Evraz plc

Evraz plc was the most popular share to buy among UK investors last week. The British mining company, with sizeable interests in both Ukraine and Russia, saw its share price plummet by a whopping 58%. On Monday 28 February, one Evraz share cost 144.75p. By Friday its price had dropped to 60p.

However, investors who piled in to buy Evraz shares towards the end of last week will probably feel vindicated. That’s because Evraz’s share price soared by 46% when markets opened on Monday. At the time of writing on Monday 7 March, one Evraz share cost 87.58p.

2. Polymetal International plc

The second most popular stock to buy last week was Polymetal International Plc.

Polymetal is described as an ‘Anglo-Russian’ precious metals mining company and is registered in Jersey. Last week, its share price went from 351p to 169p as the fighting in Ukraine intensified and the West announced further sanctions on Russia. This represents a fall of 51.85%.

Yet, in a similar fashion to Evraz, Polymetal’s price had recovered somewhat by 7 March. At the time of writing, Polymetal’s share price was up 19%, standing at 204p.

3. Rolls Royce Holdings plc

The third most popular stock among UK investors last week was Rolls Royce Holdings plc. The company is a well-known manufacturer for aviation and other industries.

The company often features on Hargreaves Lansdown’s list of most-bought shares. Last week, the company’s share price dropped from 103.5p to 90.23p, which is a fall of 12.8%. Since the turn of the year, the Rolls Royce share price is down a massive 31.15%.

As a result, many investors who have recently piled in to buy its shares will be hoping its price will soon recover to previous highs.

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What shares have UK investors been selling recently?

Now we’ve looked at the most popular shares to buy, let’s take a look at what stocks UK investors have been selling over the past week.

What can we learn from the data?

Taking a look at the most-bought shares can tell us which companies UK investors believe are perhaps undervalued. Interestingly, a number of companies on last week’s most-bought list have experienced big falls over the past few days. This tells us that many investors will be looking to profit from any sudden share price recoveries.

Other investors may be looking for bargains, but with a longer-term approach in mind. In other words, these investors will hope that prices of some companies will begin to nudge upwards if and when the war in Ukraine begins to de-escalate.

While it can be interesting to study the mindset of investors, it’s always worth keeping in mind that past share price movements should never be used to indicate future performance. If you want to invest, then always do your own research and understand that shares prices can both rise and fall.

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