British stocks decreased on Thursday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down by 0.12 percent, or 9.31 points, to close at 7,443.01 points.

Diageo, a British multinational alcoholic beverages company, soared 5.98 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Rentokil Initial and Next increased by 5.82 percent and 3.89 percent, respectively.

The multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company AstraZeneca was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its share prices losing 15.41 percent. Provident Financial, a British sub-prime lender, dropped 2.47 percent. Lloyds Banking Group, a British major bank group, fell 2.29 percent.