British stocks down 0.48 pct Monday

LONDON, March 26 (Xinhua) -- British stocks decreased on Monday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down 33.25 points, or 0.48 percent, to close at 6,888.69 points.

Fresnillo, an international mining group, soared 4.55 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. BP and Royal Bank of Scotland Group rose by 1.54 percent and 1.53 percent, respectively.

Smurfit Kappa Group, a Europe's leading corrugated packaging company, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 4.12 percent.

Micro Focus International, a British software and information technology business, dropped 3.24 percent. Paddy Power Betfair, a large British bookmaking business, dropped 2.98 percent. Enditem