British stocks down 0.44 pct Friday

LONDON, March 23 (Xinhua) -- British stocks decreased on Friday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down 30.65 points or 0.44 percent to close at 6,921.94 points.

Next, the British clothing and home products retailer, soared 7.67 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Micro Focus International and Fresnillo rose by 4.85 percent and 4.18 percent, respectively.

Smiths Group, a British software and information technology business, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 4.39 percent. Old Mutual, an international investment and banking group, dropped 3.20 percent. Intertek Group, the multinational inspection, product testing and certification company, dropped 2.45 percent. Enditem