Art & Commerce

Q2 For the most part, ad agency (and related) stocks handily outperformed the blue-chip end of the stock market (as measured by the Dow Jones) during the second quarter. First-quarter results were generally good, and investors seem to be anticipating additional bottom-line gains when the June reports come out. Of the stocks with prices above the cost of a paperback novel, the best performance came from WPP Group. Management there has been promising that the margins of the major operating units would move up toward the level of the principal competitors, and that’s what’s happening.