FTSE 100 close higher on Friday

FTSE 100 Index, the British benchmark stock market gauge, Friday increased by 0.36 percent, or 25.32 points, to 6,985.95 points.

Lloyds Banking Group, one of British major high street banks, Friday announced that its underlying profit in the first quarter of 2015 was 2.18 billion pounds (or 3.33 billion U.S. dollars), 21 percent higher than the same period of 2014.

Total income was up three percent year-on-year to 4.64 billion pounds in Q1, with net interest income increasing by 7 percent to 3.02 billion pounds and other income growing by 6 percent to 1.62 billion pounds, said Lloyds.

Lloyds Banking Group's share price increased by 7.09 percent, topped the gainers of the blue chips. Anglo American, Rio Tinto, BHP Billiton and Admiral Group increased by 5.43 percent, 3.88 percent, 2.98 percent and 2.44 percent respectively.

Aberdeen Asset Management led the top losers of the blue chips with a share price drop of 2.53 percent, followed by Hargreaves Lansdown (2.52 percent), Severn Trent (1.93 percent), TUI AG Reg Shs (1.88 percent) and 3i Group (1.70 percent).

The index has gained 7.62 percent so far this year when measured in U.S. dollar.