Public finance numbers calm market

The positive public finance figures seem to have stabilised the market a bit this morning. From a situation where the FTSE 100 was 90 points down and not a single stock was in positive territory, we now have four risers and a fall of 70 points. The Treasury said this morning that it had recorded a bigger-than-expected seasonal surplus in its public sector net borrowing. The shares that are up now are Wolseley , Scottish and Southern Energy , Land Securities and Royal Bank of Scotland . Wolseley was up about 15p, to £21.15, the biggest climber. The volatility index has also calmed a little - just 12% up from the 14% rises we were seeing earlier.