Shares this afternoon were up by as much as 31p before settling at 580p, a rise of 26p or 4.79% up on yesterday's close, regaining more than half the value they lost. Overall, the FTSE-100 index was up by 100.5 points to 4,642.4.
The recovery came as Merrill Lynch reduced its price target on the group to 776p from 800p, and cut its earnings forecasts by 1% to 拢4.18bn.
Yesterday, WPP issued a trading statement at its AGM, saying it would probably miss its profit margin target of 15% this year, and that revenues for the first five months of 2002 were down by 2% on a reportable basis on the same period last year.
The group is seen as something of a bellwether for the advertising industry, and the news that it saw few signs of recovery hit other advertising shares. Cordiant Communications, owner of the Bates Worldwide advertising network, continued falling today, down by 8p or 9.47% to trade at 79p.
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