WPP Share News (WPP)

- Greece approves 2013 budget - Japanese GDP worse than expected - Markets await Eurogroup meeting this afternoonUK stocks were continuing to trade slightly higher on Monday morning after Greece approved its 2013 budget late last night, however, gains were only modest as caution sets in ahead of the Eurogroup meeting.Greece's parliament put the rubber stamp on its budget for 2013 late Sunday night with a wide margin as 167 deputies approved the bill, 128 voted against, four voted 'present' and one member was absent. Passage of the budget was a requirement for Athens to get the green light on the next tranche of aid. However, the Troika is not expected to be able to give the final seal of approval necessary in time for today's meeting of Eurozone finance minsters. "Greece has done its part in agreeing the measures with the Troika and has taken the first step towards implementing them, it's now down to Greece's creditors to hold up their side of the bargain," said analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari."The decision on this is likely to be taken at the end of the month, meaning three weeks of uncertainty lie ahead. It's very unlikely to not be signed off though, a Greek default is in no one's interest."The Eurogroup, which is composed of the finance ministers from Eurozone countries, will meet this afternoon at 16:00 London time, when they are expected to discuss current developments in Greece and Spain. In other news, Japan's economy contracted at an annualised rate of 3.5% in the third quarter, only slightly worse than the 3.4% decline expected by analysts. Nevertheless, the decline in capital expenditures was considerably larger than what was forecast. Meanwhile, Indian industrial production fell by 0.4% in September, following an increase of 2.8% the year before. Over the weekend investors learned that Chinese exports grew at an 11.6% month-on-month pace in October, well ahead of the 10% that had been foreseen. FTSE 100: Lloyds rises after UBS commentsUBS has raised its target price for UK banking group Lloyds from 44p to 46p, saying that the bank's third-quarter results showed "solid progress and improving momentum", providing a lift to the shares this morning. The broker maintained its 'neutral' stance though.Beverages giant Diageo was also being helped by broker comments after Nomura raised its target price from 2,000p to 2,100p and retained its 'buy' recommendation, highlighting the firm's increasing exposure to emerging markets following last week's deal to buy a stake in Indian spirits group United Spirits Limited (USL). Advertising agency WPP was up following encouraging news from French rival Publicis, which reported that advertising demand improved in October.Mining stocks were broadly lower after the worse-than-expected contraction in Japan. Anglo American, Antofagasta, Xstrata and Kazakhmys were all registering losses this morning. Bucking the trend was Polymetal after extending the life-of-mine projections for its Khakanja and Omolon mines in Russia by two years after releasing the first set of ore reserves estimates for its Tsokol, Ozerny, Avlayakan, and Dalniy deposits. Drugs giant AstraZeneca declined despite announcing a clutch of positive test results relating to its naloxegol product, a treatment for opioid-induced constipation (OIC). Security giant G4S was lower after Morgan Stanley downgraded its rating on the stock to 'equal weight' and cut its target price from 320p to 280p. In contrast, hotels group InterContinental gained after Exane BNP Paribas upgraded its recommendation to 'outperform' and raised its target price from 1,630p to 1,900p. FTSE 250: Cobham drops on 2013 guidance Defence technology supplier Cobham tanked after predicting a drop in revenues in 2013 as it is hit by the fall un US defence spending. The firm also said that a change in its sales mix and new investments would mean lower operating margins next year than are expected in 2012. ??Support services and construction group Interserve rose after maintaining full-year guidance after an 'in-line' second half so far. FTSE 100 - RisersAdmiral Group (ADM) 1,091.00p +3.51%Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY) 45.11p +3.44%Polymetal International (POLY) 1,146.00p +2.87%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,244.00p +2.22%Vedanta Resources (VED) 1,110.00p +2.12%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 274.30p +1.56%WPP (WPP) 819.00p +1.36%Evraz (EVR) 239.50p +1.31%Hammerson (HMSO) 473.60p +1.30%Tullow Oil (TLW) 1,400.00p +1.30%FTSE 100 - FallersG4S (GFS) 249.40p -1.58%Amec (AMEC) 1,037.00p -1.14%Rolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 869.00p -0.91%BAE Systems (BA.) 306.30p -0.87%Croda International (CRDA) 2,253.00p -0.79%Randgold Resources Ltd. (RRS) 6,990.00p -0.78%Meggitt (MGGT) 368.90p -0.73%Serco Group (SRP) 550.50p -0.72%Xstrata (XTA) 963.70p -0.68%BG Group (BG.) 1,050.50p -0.61%FTSE 250 - RisersCOLT Group SA (COLT) 108.30p +9.84%Lonmin (LMI) 471.50p +3.56%ITE Group (ITE) 193.10p +2.99%JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 752.00p +2.31%Dixons Retail (DXNS) 24.79p +2.18%Wetherspoon (J.D.) (JDW) 537.50p +2.09%Hansteen Holdings (HSTN) 75.70p +2.09%New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 258.20p +2.06%Unite Group (UTG) 271.70p +2.03%Ruspetro (RPO) 101.90p +1.90%FTSE 250 - FallersCobham (COB) 194.30p -7.91%Talvivaara Mining Company (TALV) 95.50p -7.73%Bumi (BUMI) 265.10p -4.26%Invensys (ISYS) 225.80p -3.79%Perform Group (PER) 404.40p -3.76%Ophir Energy (OPHR) 521.50p -3.43%Balfour Beatty (BBY) 238.50p -2.81%Imagination Technologies Group (IMG) 470.30p -2.63%Bank of Georgia Holdings (BGEO) 1,059.00p -2.40%Shanks Group (SKS) 85.05p -2.24%BC