British stocks down 2.01 pct Friday

LONDON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- British stocks decreased on Friday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down by 2.01 percent, or 147.72 points, to close at 7,207.59 points.

Pearson, a British multinational publishing and education company, soared 1.68 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Next and Kingfisher increased by 1.20 percent and 0.88 percent, respectively.

NMC Health, a private healthcare services provider, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 6.05 percent. Standard Chartered, a British multinational banking and financial services company, dropped 4.58 percent. Smurfit Kappa Group, a leading corrugated packaging company, fell 4.37 percent. Enditem