WPP Share News (WPP)

Bernstein Research helped educational publisher Pearson higher after it said it is set to cash in on a shake-up of education services in the US, in spite of taking a hit from currency volatility.Bernstein says Pearson, which gets about 60% of its sales from the US, is likely to benefit from Common Core (CC), which aims to establish consistent and higher standards for graduating US high school students. CC has faced budgetary pressures following the 2008 financial crisis and its roll-out has been delayed, but Bernstein said it should spark a recovery in the new educational materials market.Ashtead shares recovered from recent heavy falls - having lost 117p in the past three weeks - helped by Liberum Capital, which reiterated its 'buy' rating on the stock. Also on the up was William Hill, which punters have taken to the cleaners on soccer results, driving a 14% fall in the bookmaker's first quarter profit. The group said major wins for football punters led to two substantial loss-making weeks in the first three months of the year, hitting its gross win margins after a good performance last year.Travis Perkins climbed after Deutsche Bank raised its target price from 1,591p to 1,881p. Meanwhile, it was disappointing news from Tullow Oil today, with the company revealing the Tapendar-1 exploration well in the C-10 licence, offshore Mauritania, has not encountered hydrocarbons. The well is being plugged and abandoned, after which the Stena DrillMax drill ship will leave Mauritania. Data from the Frégate-1 and Tapendar-1 wells will now be analysed and integrated into the seismic data previously acquired across Tullow's Mauritania acreage before the next well locations and timings are confirmed. Anglo American was also lower after Deutsche Bank cut its target price from 1,530p to 1,510p and reiterated a 'hold' recommendation. Advertising and media group WPP beat forecasts with its first-quarter revenues today, but said that currency movements had a negative impact of 8.1% on its top line, pushing shares slightly lower. FTSE 100 - RisersPearson (PSON) 1,089.00p +3.71%Ashtead Group (AHT) 864.00p +1.83%William Hill (WMH) 339.10p +1.80%Travis Perkins (TPK) 1,791.00p +1.59%Meggitt (MGGT) 479.50p +1.40%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 4,711.00p +1.12%BP (BP.) 494.40p +1.03%Vodafone Group (VOD) 218.50p +0.97%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 1,041.00p +0.97%Legal & General Group (LGEN) 207.00p +0.93%FTSE 100 - FallersTullow Oil (TLW) 839.00p -2.56%Anglo American (AAL) 1,527.00p -2.52%HSBC Holdings (HSBA) 601.10p -1.94%AstraZeneca (AZN) 4,101.50p -1.76%Hargreaves Lansdown (HL.) 1,191.00p -1.73%GKN (GKN) 383.00p -1.31%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 74.53p -1.27%Barratt Developments (BDEV) 364.20p -1.19%Next (NXT) 6,320.00p -1.17%International Consolidated Airlines Group SA (CDI) (IAG) 408.50p -1.16%NR