LONDON (ShareCast) - Media stocks are going well, particularly ITV which continues to be buoyed by hopes of a bid from Big Brother producer Endemol. BSkyB, ITV’s rival and a 17.9% stakeholder in the company, is up in sympathy.

Intercontinental Hotels, operator of Crowne Plaza and Holiday Inn hotels is another strong riser after first half operating profit rose 29.1% although growth in the second quarter slowed.

Operating profit for the six months ended 30 June 2008 rose to $284m while total revenue for the period increased 10.9% to $974m. Pre-tax profit fell 9.6% to $232m.

News provider Thomson Reuters is down sharply after second quarter revenue slowed compared to the first three months of the year. Guidance for the full year is unchanged.

FTSE 100 - Risers
ITV (ITV) 51.40p +7.98%
InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) 796.00p +6.06%
British Land Co (BLND) 784.50p +3.36%
SABMiller (SAB) 1,183.00p +3.05%
British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 505.00p +2.75%
WPP Group (WPP) 515.50p +2.49%
Royal Dutch Shell 'B' (RDSB) 1,783.00p +2.41%
Drax Group (DRX) 696.50p +2.20%

FTSE 100 - Fallers
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 917.00p -5.27%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 1,172.00p -5.02%
Standard Chartered (STAN) 1,529.00p -4.38%
Wolseley (WOS) 457.00p -4.24%
Thomson Reuters (TRIL) 1,494.00p -4.11%
Petrofac Ltd (PFC) 557.50p -3.96%
John Wood Group (WG.) 380.50p -3.73%
Tullow Oil (TLW) 674.00p -3.71%

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