British stocks closed almost flat Tuesday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index up by 0.03 percent, or 2.09 points, to close at 7,526.54 points.

Antofagasta, the Chilean mining group, soared 2.79 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Standard Chartered and St James's Place increased by 2.03 percent and 1.97 percent respectively.

The multinational hotel, coffee shop and restaurant company Whitbread was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 4.79 percent. The British multinational advertising and public relations company WPP dropped 3.07 percent. Paddy Power Betfair, a large British bookmaking business, fell 2.72 percent.