Moneysupermarket.Com Share News (MONY)

The afternoon saw many leading shares consolidate or extend the morning's gains, solidifying the Footsie's position above 5800.Banks led the advance after better than expected results from US investment bank JP Morgan yesterday. Barclays received a boost from Execution Noble, which raised its target price for the stock from 386p to 454p, while Exane BNP Paribas gave the whole sector a lift by switching its rating on European banks from 'underweight' to 'neutral'. Broker comment also has cruise operator Carnival floating higher. Morgan Stanley, which has a 'buy' rating for the shares, has lifted its price target to 3200p from 2700p for the owner of the P&O brand.Experian was the worst performing blue-chip. The credit checking firm saw revenues from continuing operations rise for the six months to March but revenues at its UK operations fell in the period. At constant exchange rates, total revenue in UK and Ireland declined 2%. Organic revenue also declined 2%, though total growth at actual exchange rates rose 6%. Overall revenue for the group, from continuing activities, increased 3% at constant exchange ratesRio Tinto is another stock nursing a loss after a trading update though it is difficult to tell whether this is due to the first quarter performance or the general lack of enthusiasm for mining stocks today. Rio said its operation continued to run at capacity with Chinese demand growing strongly and recovery in the West but it was still cautious about short term volatility. Rio Tinto's global iron ore production was up 39% on the first quarter of 2009. McBride, which makes personal care products for supermarkets to sell under their own label, has appointed an executive from the food and household goods giant Unilever as its new chief executive. Chris Bull, the chief customer officer for Unilever, will take up the reins at McBride from May 4.Oil & gas group Dana Petroleum has announced a 'significant' gas find in the North Sea.Price comparison website Moneysupermarket.com enjoyed a solid first quarter, returning to revenue growth, and remains confident for the full year.Convenience food group Uniq slid into losses in 2009 as it narrowed its focus to concentrate on the UK. The company, whose customers include Marks & Spencer, posted a pre-tax loss of £18.5m for the year, compared with £100,000 the previous year, on revenues that edged up to £287.2m from £286.7m.Energy efficiency company Eaga has been trading in line with expectations with its Carbon Services and Managed Services business segments performing well, offsetting the less favourable trading conditions in its Heating business.Soap maker PZ Cussons said its full year trading outlook remains positive and is in line with company expectations despite challenging trading conditions in some territories and rising input costs.IT security firm NCC Group said trading performance remains in line with the board's expectations and on course to deliver the anticipated levels of growth and profitability.Just a few months after issuing a profits warning digital marketing and corporate communications specialist Hasgrove is in a very upbeat frame of mind about its prospects in 2010. The bright outlook for 2010 is in stark contrast to what Hagrove chief executive Rod Hyde freely admitted was an "horrendous" 2009. Profit before tax in 2009 slumped to £1.47m from £4.2m, while turnover eased to £32.39m from £36.54m, reflecting budget cutbacks by most of its customers.Shares in Northern Bear roared ahead after the support services group said it expects full-year results to be at the higher end of market forecasts.Dental products supplier Astek Group is going private with independent shareholders being offered something to get their teeth into in the form of 0.625p a share in cash. Security films supplier Pentagon Protection has been appointed the exclusive supplier of Unival blast protection technology products in the UK. These include the HEDD1 handheld explosive detection device, the PWJ1 portable jamming system and night vision and thermal imaging products.FTSE 100 - RisersHSBC Holdings (HSBA) 712.50p +2.96%Petrofac Ltd. (PFC) 1,261.00p +2.94%Barclays (BARC) 383.15p +2.58%Shire Plc (SHP) 1,463.00p +2.31%Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS) 45.95p +2.29%BT Group (BT.A) 131.90p +2.17%Carnival (CCL) 2,693.00p +2.08%Cairn Energy (CNE) 424.80p +2.02%ARM Holdings (ARM) 240.00p +1.91%Rexam (REX) 306.70p +1.76%FTSE 100 - FallersExperian Group (EXPN) 616.50p -2.91%Home Retail Group (HOME) 287.60p -2.18%British American Tobacco (BATS) 2,185.50p -1.73%Associated British Foods (ABF) 958.00p -1.24%Rolls-Royce Group (RR.) 610.50p -1.21%G4S (GFS) 263.80p -1.20%Imperial Tobacco Group (IMT) 1,987.00p -1.05%Eurasian Natural Resources (ENRC) 1,232.00p -1.04%Admiral Group (ADM) 1,328.00p -0.90%BHP Billiton (BLT) 2,266.50p -0.85%