British shares edged lower on Thursday as advertising giant WPP fell after sales growth at its French peer Publicis slowed and mid-caps NCC and Keller plummeted following disappointing updates.

Shares in WPP fell nearly 3% after Publicis Groupe , down 6%, said third-quarter sales grew by just 0.2% on an organic basis following the loss of large media accounts in the United States in 2015.

Concern about advertising revenues hit British broadcaster ITV as well, with its shares down 3% after broker Liberum cut its target price for the stock.

"We reflect the latest comments from media buyers into our forecasts, which suggest a weaker advertising momentum into Q4," Liberum said, lowering its net advertising estimate for 2016.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index was down 0.2% by 0830 GMT after gaining in the previous two sessions. The FTSE 250 index fell 0.4%.

The mid-cap index's underperformance was caused by sharp sell-offs in shares of some companies. Cyber security company NCC plummeted 35% and headed for its biggest-ever daily decline after it faced some contract cancellations and difficulties with some renewals.

Mid-cap engineering companies Keller slumped 25% and Senior fell 20% after both issued profit warnings .

However, airline stocks found some solid ground after German airline Lufthansa, up more than 7%, increased its profit target for the year and on expectations that the British government will approve a third runway for London's Heathrow airport.

"All the signals point to the government finally approving the move. This could deliver a major boost to the UK's airline sector and knock-on positives for European carriers," ETX Capital analyst Neil Wilson said.

Shares in British Airways owner ICG, easyJet and Ryanair rose 2.2 to 3.3%.

The FTSE 100 index, dominated by internationally exposed companies, has surged more than 20% since a post-Brexit sell-off in June following a drop in sterling. However, the index is up less than 9% since then in dollar terms. (Reuters)

Source: www.businessworld.ie