Ad Stocks on the Decline

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed mixed last week, with no major economic news to guide investors. However, it was a down week for ad-holding-company stocks. On the Big Board, Omnicom Group’s shares declined 1 percent to close the week at $72.71. Interpublic Group saw its stock price decrease 2.9 percent to $13.35, as market watchers prepared for its second-quarter earnings report on Tuesday. “I think that we would like to see concrete signs of margin turnaround, though that may not be evident until the next quarter,” said Neil Begley, an evp at Moody’s Investors Service. Meanwhile, WPP Group, trading as American Depository Receipts on the Nasdaq, fell 3.2 percent to $42.87.