WPP Share News (WPP)

Political uncertainty in Italy and an economic contraction in Japan weighed on stock markets on Monday morning, as investors shrugged off some better-than-expected industrial production figures from China.A close eye will be kept on Italian bond yields today after the weekend's news that Prime Minister Mario Monti is to step down at the end of the year once the 2013 budget has been passed. This follows last week's move by Silvio Berlusconi to withdraw his party's (PDL) support for Monti's technocratic government. "On top of this, Silvio Berlusconi, the man responsible for getting Italy into the mess it was in 12 months ago, has decided to run for office again," said market analyst Craig Erlam from Alpari. "At this stage a Berlusconi victory appears very unlikely, however he may gather some support with his plan to offer a vote on euro membership."Japanese gross domestic product (GDP) fell at a annual rate of 3.5% in the three months to the end of September, in line with the preliminary reading. This follows the revised 0.1% decrease in the second quarter. While the market was expecting a contraction in the third quarter, the 3.5% rate of decline was worse than the 3.3% fall pencilled.Elsewhere, industrial production figures in China were strong last month, rising at an annual rate of 10.1%, up from October's 9.6% gain and the 9.8% increase expected. However, the country's exports rose by less than forecast in November, by 2.9% month-on-month (consensus estimate: +9%). Markets were also digesting the news that US President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner had an unscheduled face-to-face meeting yesterday to discuss the 'fiscal cliff'. "Thus, investors will be hoping for an early Christmas present this week in the form of announcement, which is backed by tangible evidence, that US policy officials are close to agreeing a deal to avoid the cliff," said financial trader Shavaz Dhalla. "Despite the possibility of an early Christmas rally, courtesy of US policy officials hopefully moving closer to agreeing a deal to avoid the cliff, there is still a sombre mood hanging over the markets caused by poor trade balance figures from China. This, partnered with data last week showing poor industrial production figures from Germany as well as a growth downgrade for 2013, is a clear sign that the global economy is still struggling with the impact of the recent financial crisis," he said.FTSE 100: ENRC and Rolls-Royce provide a dragMining titan Eurasian Natural Resources Corporation (ENRC), fell after saying that it is to buy the remaining 49.5% stake in Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) focused group Camrose Resources for $550m. The acquisition is an attempt to simplify its organisational structure and consolidate its position within the DRC. Power systems group Rolls-Royce was still under pressure after Thursday's news that it was under investigation by the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) after matters of bribery and corruption involving so-called "intermediaries" were discovered in Indonesia and China. According to media reports this weekend, Rolls-Royce has been accused of giving $20m and a new car to the son of the former Indonesian President to help the company win an engine contract.Advertising and media giant WPP was under the weather this morning after Deutsche Bank lowered its rating for the stock to 'hold' and cut its target price for the share from 945p to 930p.FTSE 250: Greggs hit by CEO departureKen McMeikan, the Chief Executive Officer of bakery and hot snacks retailer Greggs, is to leave the company for catering firm Brakes Group. Shares fell early on after the CEO of four years said that he would leave as soon as a successor could be found. Shore Capital cut its recommendation for the shares to 'hold' this morning.Oil and gas group Salamander Energy gained after has announcing that it has started drilling at its Bontang project in the North Kutei basin in Indonesia.Irn-Bru maker AG Barr was flat after posting a 9% increase in revenue in the 18 weeks to the start of December and says it remains confident of delivering on full-year expectations. Numis downgraded its rating on the stock this morning to 'hold'.FTSE 100 - RisersTate & Lyle (TATE) 763.50p +0.59%GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) 1,356.50p +0.56%Associated British Foods (ABF) 1,491.00p +0.40%Reckitt Benckiser Group (RB.) 3,973.00p +0.28%Rio Tinto (RIO) 3,264.50p +0.26%Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 2,169.00p +0.25%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,690.00p +0.24%Burberry Group (BRBY) 1,308.00p +0.23%Severn Trent (SVT) 1,553.00p +0.19%Royal Dutch Shell 'A' (RDSA) 2,095.00p +0.12%FTSE 100 - FallersRolls-Royce Holdings (RR.) 879.00p -1.95%Eurasian Natural Resources Corp. (ENRC) 277.70p -1.87%Aviva (AV.) 359.80p -1.77%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,110.00p -1.77%Evraz (EVR) 239.00p -1.40%Aggreko (AGK) 2,214.00p -1.34%WPP (WPP) 858.50p -1.27%Weir Group (WEIR) 1,813.00p -1.20%Melrose Industries (MRO) 221.80p -1.03%Fresnillo (FRES) 1,949.00p -1.02%FTSE 250 - RisersRuspetro (RPO) 85.95p +3.06%Grainger (GRI) 114.90p +1.68%Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,975.00p +1.54%Raven Russia Ltd (RUS) 62.65p +1.46%BH Macro Ltd. GBP Shares (BHMG) 1,950.00p +1.35%Halfords Group (HFD) 342.80p +1.30%Centamin (DI) (CEY) 50.50p +1.10%Stobart Group Ltd. (STOB) 98.00p +1.03%Interserve (IRV) 362.70p +0.97%COLT Group SA (COLT) 101.70p +0.89%FTSE 250 - FallersAZ Electronic Materials SA (DI) (AZEM) 365.50p -3.89%Greggs (GRG) 472.00p -2.98%KCOM Group (KCOM) 69.20p -2.74%Perform Group (PER) 370.50p -2.50%Betfair Group (BET) 739.00p -2.38%Hochschild Mining (HOC) 464.20p -2.27%Dunelm Group (DNLM) 631.00p -1.94%Sports Direct International (SPD) 391.30p -1.93%RPS Group (RPS) 208.00p -1.89%Cranswick (CWK) 775.50p -1.84%BC