LONDON, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) --British stocks rose on Friday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index up by 0.65 percent, or 49.70 points, to close at 7,665.54 points.

Next, a British multinational retailer, soared 3.04 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Ashtead Group and Bunzl increased by 2.51 percent and 2.49 percent, respectively.

Mediclinic International,an international private hospital group, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 2.89 percent. Reckitt Benckiser Group, a British multinational consumer goods company, dropped 1.48 percent.Randgold Resources, a gold mining business, fell 0.94 percent. Enditem