LONDON, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- British stocks rose on Thursday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index up by 1.05 percent, or 78.76 points, to close at 7,603.98 points.

Mediclinic International, an international private hospital group, soared 7.33 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. NMC Health and Next increased by 2.89 percent and 2.84 percent, respectively.

Carnival,an American cruise company, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 1.73 percent. Berkeley Group Holdings, a British property developer, dropped 0.95 percent. WPP, a British multinational advertising and public relations company, fell 0.81 percent. Enditem