British stocks down 1.30 pct Thursday

LONDON, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- British stocks decreased on Thursday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down by 1.30 percent, or 76.48 points, to close at 5,822.78 points.

Pearson, a British multinational publishing and education company, soared 6.22 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Persimmon and Barratt Developments increased by 3.91 percent and 3.24 percent, respectively.

Rolls-Royce Holdings, a British-based engineering company, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 7.57 percent. Smiths Group, a British multinational diversified engineering business, dropped 7.51 percent. International Consolidated Airlines Group, an Anglo-Spanish multinational airline holding company, fell 5.33 percent.