British stocks up 0.37 pct Friday

LONDON, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- British stocks rose on Friday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index up 28.34 points or 0.37 percent at 7,724.22 points.

Centrica, a British multinational utility company, soared 3.07 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. United Utilities Group and Next increased by 2.25 percent and 2.23 percent, respectively.

The motor insurance company Admiral Group was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 2.93 percent. Barclays, the major British bank, dropped 2.60 percent. Mediclinic International, an international private hospital group, dropped 1.01 percent. Enditem