London open: Modest gains

London's benchmark index has kicked off with modest gains with banks proving popular early on.Investors are keen on the likes of Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC Holdings But they seem unsure about Rio Tinto, which released a first quarter update. The group 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. Amongst the biggest losers so far are fellow miners Randgold Resources and BHP Billiton.Credit checking firm Experian 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 ratesMcBride, 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.On the economic front, Consumer confidence fell at its sharpest rate since the beginning of the recession. The Nationwide's index of consumer sentiment fell to 72 in March from 81 in February.