LONDON, March 1 (Xinhua) -- British stocks rose on Friday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index up by 0.45 percent, or 32.00 points, to close at 7,106.73 points.

WPP, a British multinational advertising and public relations company, soared 4.89 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. London Stock Exchange Group and ITV increased by 4.17 percent and 3.85 percent, respectively.

RELX, a British multinational information and analytics company, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 6.85 percent. Rolls-Royce Holdings, a Britain-based engineering company, dropped 5.24 percent. Fresnillo , a Mexican-based precious metals mining company, fell 4.19 percent. Enditem