FTSE 100 close higher on Thursday

FTSE 100 Index, British benchmark stock market gauge, Thursday increased by 0.35 percent, or 23.96 points, to 6,833.46 points.
Retail sector lifted the London stock index higher on Thursday, but gains were limited due to the weak data from Britain.
British retailer Marks & Spencer has shown strong a performance. The retailer said on Thursday sales for the three months to 28 March grew 1.9 percent.
However, British construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) was far below the market expectation. It dropped to 57.8 in March 2015 from 60.1 in February 2015, the lowest reading over the past three months, said Markit Economics Limited on Thursday.
Coca-Cola HBC AG's share price increased by 4.66 percent, topping the gainers of the blue chips. Marks & Spencer Group, Hikma Pharmaceuticals, Imperial Tobacco Group and Weir Group increased by 4.43 percent, 3.00 percent, 2.82 percent and 2.48 percent respectively.
BHP Billiton led the top losers of the blue chips with a share price drop of 2.62 percent, followed by Antofagasta (2.11 percent), Anglo American (1.92 percent), Shire (1.90 percent) and easyJet (1.50 percent).
The index has gained 5.34 percent so far this year when measured in U.S. dollar.