LONDON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- British stocks decreased on Friday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down 46.96 points or 0.63 percent at 7,443.43 points.

AstraZeneca, a multinational pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical company , soared 3.07 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Vodafone Group and Admiral Group rose by 2.38 percent and 1.56 percent, respectively.

Glencore, a multinational commodity trading and mining company, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 4.26 percent. Evraz, an international steel and mining company, dropped 3.85 percent. Johnson Matthey, a British speciality chemicals company, dropped 2.85 percent. Enditem