British stocks down 1.14 pct Wednesday

LONDON, Jan. 24 (Xinhua) -- British stocks decreased on Wednesday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down by 1.14 percent, or 88.40 points, to close at 7,643.43 points.

London Stock Exchange Group, a British-based stock exchange and financial information company, soared 4.97 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Fresnillo and Randgold Resources increased by 3.71 percent and 3.04 percent, respectively.

Sage Group,a global supplier of accounting and business management software, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 6.48 percent. Ashtead Group, an international equipment rental company, dropped 3.07 percent.BAE Systems, a British multinational defence, security, and aerospace company, fell 3.05 percent. Enditem