British stocks down 1.35 pct Friday

LONDON, Oct.5 (Xinhua) -- British stocks decreased on Friday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down by 1.35 percent, or 99.80 points, to close at 7,318.54 points.

Severn Trent, a water company based in Britain, soared 1.83 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Rentokil Initial and British Land increased by 1.74 percent and 1.46 percent, respectively.

Antofagasta,a Chilean business, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 5.44 percent. Ocado Group, a British online supermarket, dropped 4.79 percent. Anglo American, a multinational mining company, fell 4.25 percent.