FTSE 100 rises for eighth consecutive day Deal talk was behind some of the biggest risers in both the FTSE 100 and the FTSE 250. Under-pressure security services provider G4S advanced 8½ to 250½p after Bloomberg reported that private equity group Charterhouse Capital is eyeing a possible £1bn bid for the blue-chip company's cash transportation and ATM business. Similarly, QinetiQ, the defence services group that was spun out from the Ministry of Defence, climbed 8.9 to 202.8p following a weekend report that the mid-capper is looking to sell its US business in a transaction that could value the division at between £300m and £400m and may lead a full break up of the company. Liberum Capital's experts reckoned the price-tag put on the business was "full," and argued that "a £200m-plus valuation would be earnings enhancing, assuming all proceeds were used to buy back shares." Staying with the defence sector, BAE Systems rose 9 to 453.9p after Citigroup analysts, who rate the company "neutral," boosted their target price to 460p from 360p. The broker's experts also said that engine-maker Rolls-Royce remained a "key" pick because of its "strong earnings growth prospects," lifting the group 31p to £11.23. Provident Financial, the UK's largest doorstep lender, was another that was buoyed by analyst commentary and closed up 62p at £16.38. Shore Capital's experts reckoned there were "exciting times ahead" for the company, partly because of the expansion of its Vanquis credit card division into Poland and the launch of a new repayment loan in Britain. The analysts lifted their rating on Provident to "buy," helping the shares recover all of the losses they suffered on Friday when the FTSE 250 company issued a trading update. Elsewhere in the second tier, Balfour Beatty added 1.8 to 283p after announcing it had secured a £64m Crossrail contract with Network Rail to electrify 12.5 miles of line. The news that EDF had agreed a deal with the Government to build two nuclear reactors at Hinkley Point in Somerset helped Costain rise 6 to 282p. The small-cap engineering and construction group said it had finalised a contract to design the water cooling systems at the site. Aveva, a supplier of software used in large infrastructure projects, is another that may work on the nuclear reactors, according to analysts at Panmure Gordon, who noted that the company has a relationship with EDF dating back to the 1980s. Aveva added 15p to £25.95. Deutsche Bank analysts flagged that FTSE 100 energy services group Amec is also likely to be involved in Hinkley Point, helping it rise 44p to £11.48. The heaviest faller in the benchmark index was Royal Bank of Scotland, off 19.6 at 353.1p, after Chancellor George Osborne said a break up of the lender into "good" and "bad" banks would get under way in a matter of weeks. Analysts at Nomura were downbeat on the development, and said "minority shareholders have much to lose from an unfavourable outcome of the 'good bank/bad bank" review." Furthermore, worries that RBS may have to pay a settlement to US regulators over bad mortgage-backed securities sold before the financial crisis also weighed on its shares, after JPMorgan agreed to pay $13bn in penalties over similar allegations. Disappointment that Marks & Spencer's womenswear development and buying director Gillian Ridley Whittle is leaving the high-street stalwart saw the retailer slide 8 to 487.1p. But supermarket group Tesco, 3.05 higher at 372.2p, shrugged off news that Berkshire Hathaway, the conglomerate run by famed investor Warren Buffett, had cut its holding in the company to 3.98pc. Share placings kept some brokers busy. Scientific instruments designer Judges Scientific raised £8.125m from a placing of 500,000 shares at £16.25, a 7pc discount to Friday's close that pulled the group 37½p lower to £17.10. The Aim-listed company raised the money to fund acquisitions and Shore Capital carried out the transaction. Clean technology group Hydrodec also dipped 0.125 to 12¼p on Aim after disclosing it was raising £20m from a placing with institutional investors and a further £4m in an offer open to all current shareholders. Both transactions are to be priced at 11¼p apiece and are being carried out by broker Peel Hunt. Finally, dealers noticed what appeared to be a fat finger trade in Royal Mail, which briefly spiked as much as 7.2pc to 538½p in lunchtime trade. The freshly privatised postal services did not hold on to any of its gains, however, and closed down 4½ at 498p.