ITV hits back of the net with England victory ITV shareholders had reason to celebrate England's qualification for World Cup 2014 with the stock hitting a record high. Earnings from Omnicom and Publicis bolstered confidence in the ad market, which provides about 60 per cent of ITV's revenue. Both advertising agencies reported 7 per cent UK organic growth in the third quarter, far outpacing other markets. ITV's own guidance for 9 per cent ad sales growth in the third quarter already looked far too pessimistic, said analysts, with UBS predicting an outturn as high as 16 per cent. The World Cup, which ITV has rights to broadcast alongside the BBC, should help continue that positive trend into next year, they said. "We forecast 5.4 per cent ITV TV advertising revenue growth for 2014 but risk could be on the upside if the current momentum in the TV ad market continues," said Liberum Capital. But with ITV shares up 87 per cent in the year to date, investors were questioning how much optimism was already in the price. Some saw a growing risk that, with ITV now trading at historic valuation multiples based on 2014 earnings, BSkyB would place its remaining 7.5 per cent stake to bank a 40 per cent profit. ITV rose 1.7 per cent 190.1p. Progress in resolving the US political deadlock gave the wider market a fifth straight gain, albeit a modest one. The FTSE 100 rose 0.3 per cent, or 22.48 points, to 6,571.59. Hopes of a revival of risk appetite among smaller investors meant stockbrokers led both the risers and the fallers. Hargreaves Lansdown rose 4.8 per cent to £10.90 a day after reporting strong trading while Schroders lost 2.8 per cent to £25.68 on continued concern about its focus on conservative products. Pressure remained on Invesco Perpetual's biggest investments following the news on Tuesday that star manager Neil Woodford was leaving, with investors reasoning that redemptions would require sales. Homeserve lost 5.4 per cent to 229.6p and Provident Financial slipped 2.5 per cent to £16.15. Burberry finished unchanged at £14.64, having dropped as low as £14.24 at the open after LVMH said sales growth of fashion and leather goods had slowed. LVMH denied it was suffering from weaker demand, blaming instead a shortage of good quality leather, which sent handbag maker Mulberry 5.7 per cent lower at £10.08. Arm Holdings rose 1.2 per cent to £10.30 after Intel pushed back by one quarter the launch of Broadwell, its latest attempt to weaken Arm's dominance in the market for low-power processors. Kentz rallied 3.5 per cent to 535p on an upgrade from HSBC, which was part of a 204-page review of the oil services sector. Amec's decision not to pursue a bid for Kentz gave investors a buy opportunity ahead of growth returning to historic levels, it said. "Kentz's underlying story is accelerating and, now the M&A story is off the table, we think the market's focus should return to what we see as one of the strongest growth stories in the sector," said HSBC. Kenmare Resources lost 6.7 per cent to 23p, the titanium miner's fourth straight fall since last week selling stock at 26.5p to ease the stress on its balance sheet. The latest worry came from Iluka, the world's biggest zircon producer, which warned of weaker pricing and "more subdued market conditions in most markets." A profit warning sent Anite tumbling 32 per cent to 76.8p with the handset testing specialist blaming turmoil in the mobile industry for the expected orders not arriving.