British stocks down 0.53 pct Thursday

LONDON, March 7 (Xinhua) -- British stocks decreased on Thursday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down by 0.53 percent, or 38.45 points, to close at 7,157.55 points.

National Grid, a British multinational electricity and gas utility company, soared 2.46 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Informa and Spirax-Sarco Engineering increased by 2.33 percent and 2.26 percent, respectively.

NMC Health,a private healthcare services provider,was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 11.47 percent. Persimmon, one of Britain's house builders, dropped 7.52 percent. Rio Tinto, an international mining group, fell 7.45 percent. Enditem