LONDON, Feb. 21 (Xinhua) -- British stocks rose on Wednesday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index up 34.80 points or 0.48 percent at 7,281.57 points.

Glencore, a multinational commodity trading and mining company, soared 5.24 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Anglo American and Mediclinic International rose by 3.26 percent and 2.89 percent, respectively.

Shire, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 2.62 percent. WPP, the British multinational advertising and public relations company, dropped 1.46 percent. British Land Company, a property development company, dropped 1.33 percent. Enditem