The FTSE index was up 39.5 points to 4,183.7 as the market failed to react to terror attacks on an Israeli-owned hotel in Kenya and a failed surface-to-air missile attack on an Israeli jet.
The markets were also helped by strong data from Wall Street, which included a drop in unemployment insurance claims and leap in October durable goods orders. However, traders were not expecting more gains because Wall Street is closed for the Thanksgiving holiday.
This morning, the Daily Mail & General Trust recorded a small rise in pre-tax profits to £182.5m and said that October/November advertising revenues for Associated Newspapers, which publishes the Daily Mail, the Evening Standard and Metro, will be up 5% while advertising revenues for the year fell by 9.6%.
DMGT shares were up 4.1% this afternoon or 25p to 635p. Rival newspaper groups were up too, with Trinity Mirror rising 2.63% to 371p; Financial Times publisher Pearson was up 4.19% to 709.5p; and magazine publisher Emap was up 4.32% to 846p.
Earlier this week, Carlton and Granada reported their full-year results with both reporting increased advertising revenues for October and November.
The two ITV companies, which are in the process of pressing home the case in favour of their £2.6bn merger, both reported increased losses. Granada reported that full-year losses rose to £164m and Carlton's to £156.2m after both were hit by charges for their failed digital TV joint venture ITV Digital.
Granada is currently up 7.3% to 95.5p and Carlton is up 8.83% to 163.5p. Other broadcasters were up as well, with BSkyB rising 3.53% to 674.5p, radio group Capital up 5.97% to 532.5p, and the Classic FM-operating GWR was up 1.59% to 160p.
Advertising stocks were also faring well. WPP Group has risen steadily this week and was up 5.45% to 532.5p this afternoon. Aegis, which owns media-buying group Carat, was up 8.31% to 84.75p. Even troubled Cordiant Communications, which lost its group finance director Art D'Angelo to Interpublic, was up 7.69% to 42p.
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