LONDON, March 28 (Xinhua) -- British stocks rose on Wednesday, with the benchmark FTSE 100 Index up 44.60 points or 0.64 percent at 7,044.74 points.

Shire, the global specialty biopharmaceutical company, soared 14.01 percent, the top gainer of the blue chips. United Utilities Group and Severn Trent rose by 8.32 percent and 6.08 percent, respectively.

Evraz, an international steel and mining company, was the worst performer in the blue chips, with its shares losing 6.05 percent. Antofagasta, the Chilean mining group, dropped 3.90 percent. Anglo American, another international mining group, dropped 3.82 percent. Enditem