British stocks down 1.49 pct Thursday

LONDON, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- British stocks fell on Thursday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down 108.73 points, or 1.49 percent, to close at 7,170.69 points.

Compass Group, a catering and support services supplier, soared 5.32 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. WPP and Just Eat rose by 3.13 percent and 2.06 percent, respectively.

Evraz, an international steel and mining company, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 5.10 percent.

Ashtead Group, the British industrial equipment rental company, dropped 4.91 percent. DCC, the business support services company, dropped 4.73 percent. Enditem