British stocks down 0.75 pct Thursday

LONDON, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- British stocks decreased on Thursday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down by 0.75 percent, or 45.61 points, to close at 5,999.99 points.

WPP, a British multinational advertising and public relations company, soared 6.47 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. International Consolidated Airlines Group and Compass Group increased by 4.85 percent and 4.48 percent, respectively.

HomeServe, a multinational home emergency repairs and improvements business, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 3.36 percent. Persimmon, a British housebuilding company, dropped 2.90 percent. Johnson Matthey, a global science and chemicals company, fell 2.74 percent.