LONDON, April 12 (Xinhua) -- British stocks rose on Thursday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index up by 0.02 percent, or 1.20 points, to close at 7,258.34 points.

Micro Focus International, a multinational software and information technology business, soared 7.56 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. Tesco and easyJet increased by 3.46 percent and 3.20 percent, respectively.

Randgold Resources,a gold mining business, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 3.13 percent. Compass Group, a multinational contract foodservice company, dropped 1.62 percent. Fresnillo, a precious metals mining company, fell 1.48 percent. Enditem