WPP in demand as FTSE inches higher Shares in WPP topped a mildly higher FTSE 100 on Tuesday in opening trade after upbeat broker comment on the global advertising agency. JPMorgan raised its rating on the stock from "neutral" to "overweight" and lifted its price target from 900p to £10.71. It helped shares in the company rise 2.1 per cent to 812p. Overall, London's benchmark index crept a further 5 points higher to 5,632.90, a rise of just 0.1 per cent. Demand for financial stocks, after their recent run lower in response to the Libor scandal left them looking undervalued, was offset by weakness among miners. Worries that Chinese trade data were further proof of a more pronounced slowdown there cast further doubt on the outlook for global economic growth. Rio Tinto was the biggest single faller among base metals miners, down 0.8 per cent at £30.07. Antofagasta was 0.8 per cent weaker at £10.86. "The acute impact of a stuttering China and ongoing eurozone concerns continue to keep investors at bay," said Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at Interactive Investor. Investors are feeling they have seen enough of the recent rally and are now choosing to sit on their hands or take profits where they can. Compass Group was the biggest single faller on the FTSE 100 as traders digested poorly received news from its French peer Sodexo. The continental contract caterer missed forecasts and warned that corporate clients were cutting back on spending. Compass fell 3.2 per cent to 647½p. Marks and Spencer's shares were sanguine after the retailer said the poor weather in the UK hit its first quarter sales, but not by enough for it to revise its full-year guidance. It also announced changes to its senior management team, with the head of its non-food operations, Kate Bostock, stepping down. The stock, one of the most widely held on the index, rose 1.1 per cent to 324.6p, enough to earn it a place in the top 10 on the leaderboard. Caroline Gulliver, analyst at Espirito Santo Investment Bank, said: "M&S's shares have fallen nearly 20 per cent since the recent peak in March and now trade on 9.2 times consensus earnings for 2012 ... but we would caution that full-year profit before tax will depend upon sales performance through the next three quarters, particularly over the peak Christmas period." Bethany Hocking, analyst at Investec, said: "The ongoing outperformance of the food [unit] is making M&S a structurally lower gross margin business ... Clothing still accounts for roughly half of profits, however, so issues there are in need of a solution, and the management changes are thus positive, but most don't occur until October.