G4S tops FTSE on public contract hopes G4S topped a rebounding FTSE 100 on Tuesday as the support services provider looked set to win significant new government business. Traders reacted warmly to news the company was poised to win a role in implementing the government's contentious and complex changes to child benefit and the universal credit. G4S and five other companies will run call centres dealing with inquiries about the changes. The news helped move the company out of the shadows cast by its failure to provide adequate security staff for the London 2012 Olympics, which raised doubts about the likelihood of it securing further government business. "We think there is scope for the shares to recover back to their pre-Olympic peak, and do not subscribe to the view that the UK Government outsourcing market is firmly shut for the company," said Mike Allen and Paul Jones, analysts at Panmure Gordon, in a note to the broker's clients. They lifted their rating on the stock from hold to buy. Shares in G4S rose 3 per cent to 257.7p in mid-session trade. Before the news of the Olympic contract failure, the stock was worth 278.7p. It reached a closing low of 237.3p shortly afterwards, Overall, the FTSE 100"s gentle but determined circling of the 5,900-point mark continued on Tuesday, with resource stocks in demand, but the absence of banks from the otherwise broad-based rally stopped it from looking like a full return to risk. London's main index rose after three consecutive sessions of losses, gaining 18 points to 5,929.39, a rise of 0.3 per cent. The rebound was led by mining stocks, as traders across global markets were cheered by signs of progress on talks in Washington to avoid the dangers posed to the US economy by the fiscal cliff. The $600bn package of automatic tax rises and spending cuts scheduled for early 2013 could tip America back into recession if left in place. Russian steelmaker Evraz, which tends to correlate with wider risk appetite and the outlook for global growth, rose 1.4 per cent to 270.2p. ENRC, the base metals producer, was 1.6 per cent higher at 274.8p. The gains were also broad, with only 13 stocks falling, with the biggest losers mainly sharing defensive properties. Imperial Tobacco lost 0.7 per cent to £24.08. Drugmaker GlaxoSmithKline was 0.9 per cent weaker at £13.53.