LONDON, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- British stocks decreased on Thursday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index down by 0.36 percent, or 27.59 points, to close at 7,615.84 points.

Smith & Nephew, a British-based multinational medical equipment manufacturing company, soared 4.15 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Bunzl and Next increased by 3.50 percent and 3.09 percent, respectively.

Sage Group, a global supplier of accounting and business management software, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 2.29 percent. British American Tobacco, a British multinational tobacco company, dropped 2.13 percent. Rolls-Royce Holdings, a United Kingdom-based engineering company, fell 2.04 percent. Enditem