Sharewatch: WPP Boosted By Positive Advertising Forecasts

WPP was seen in focus yesterday rising 5.19% to close at an eighteen month high. The global advertising and marketing group has been boosted by renewed talk of an economic recovery on both sides of the Atlantic with ZenithOptimedia and Universal McCann upgrading their global advertising forecasts for 2004.

Meanwhile, Reuters was seen up 0.63% after announcing that revenue declines at the company have slowed and management is satisfied that the period of contraction is over. Tom Glocer, Reuters chief executive, said: “I am confident that we have now passed the inflection point in our recurring revenue decline” (see Reuters Sees Light At The End Of The Tunnel).

The best performance in yesterday’s media market came from UBC, which climbed 8.87% higher after securing a deal with Guardian Media Group to broadcast its entertainment news service on on all GMG radio stations in the UK.

However, things were slightly less positive for the broader market yesterday as London blue chips edged lower. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.1% at 4,456.1, but the more cyclical FTSE 250 gained 0.4% to finish at 6,038.9.

The closing prices of media company shares on Wednesday were: