London open: WPP drags sluggish FTSE 100 lower

Stocks have got off to a sluggish start again today, with most of the excitement to be found among smaller companies.That said, acquisitive advertising conglomerate WPP is the heaviest faller in the large-cap index. It has been waving its debit card about again, this time acquiring a majority stake in Indian advertising agency, Mindset Advertising. Sportswear retailer Sports Direct's move into the fashion world with the acquisition of 80% shareholdings in the Scottish fashion chains USC and Cruise Clothing for £7m has pleased the market. Cash and carry group Booker is in demand after saying it is on course to meet expectations for the year ending 30 March after seeing a sharp rise in sales in the first quarter. Total sales were up by 9.5% from the same period the previous year (7.4% on a like-for-like basis), and by 9.1% excluding tobacco. Like-for-like tobacco sales were up by 5.7%.Turning to smaller companies, shares in Coal of Africa roared higher after the miner said it had been granted approval to build its project at Vele in South Africa. Construction is expected to be completed in six to nine months and production is expected to reach 1m tonnes a year.Advertising and marketing group Cello dropped after saying it expects profits for the full year to fall slightly short of expectations after losing a retail research contract earlier this month and seeing one of its retail clients entering administration. The company expects to incur a full year exceptional charge of about £500,000. But another marketing-type firm, ILA, which supplies women's personal alarms and promotional products, is having a good day. It expects full-year sales to be higher than previously anticipated after successfully penetrating new markets.