London's FTSE 100 made a decent start to the week with WPP leading the way on an outbreak of consolidation among the top advertising agencies.
The Footsie added 26 points to 8,335 helped by WPP, which rose 3.5% in sympathy on news of a possible merger between peers Omnicom and Interpublic.
Omnicom, owner of the Dark Horses and Coffee TV agencies here in the UK, and Interpublic, the holding company for names such as McCann, and Weber Shandwick, are reportedly in talks about a US$30 billion tie-up.
Elsewhere, demand for jobs waned as business confidence dropped last month, sending vacancies down by the sharpest rate since the pandemic.
KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation on Monday highlighted a “sharp and accelerated” drop in demand for staff through November.
Boohoo Group has urged shareholders to reject renewed efforts by Mike Ashley to secure seats on its board once again. Having previously accused Ashley of an “ulterior motive”, Boohoo on Monday highlighted a recommendation from proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services that investors oppose Frasers’ move.