UK stocks lose steam on Middle East ceasefire doubts

April 9 (Reuters) - The ​UK's FTSE ⁠100 edged lower and mid cap ​stocks posted a bigger fall on Thursday after recording their strongest session in months a ​day ‌earlier, as oil prices rebounded on growing doubts over a fragile ceasefire in ⁠the Middle East conflict.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed ⁠0.1% lower at 10,603.5 points and ​the FTSE 250 was down 1%.

* The FTSE 350 energy index climbed 2% as oil prices jumped on concerns that energy flows through the crucial Strait ​of Hormuz ‌will remain restricted.

* The viability of the ceasefire is in question amid continued Israeli strikes on Lebanon, causing Iran to suggest it would be "unreasonable" to proceed with talks to forge a permanent peace deal.

* The FTSE ​100 recorded its biggest daily percentage gain in a year on Wednesday ‌after the deal between the U.S. and Iran for a two-week ceasefire.

* Rate-sensitive homebuilders came under pressure as bond ‌yields edged higher. The two-year gilt yield , which reflects near-term rate expectations, rose to 4.221% a day after its largest one-day fall since March ​2023.

* Traders were betting on around 34 basis points of rate hikes from the ‌Bank of England by the end of this year, compared to 32 bps on Wednesday.

* Britain's housing market cooled noticeably last month as economic uncertainty stemming ⁠from ⁠the Iran war unnerved buyers who face rising mortgage ‌rates, a survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors showed.

* Ceres Power Holdings fell ​6.2% after ​brokerage Peel Hunt downgraded the clean energy technology developer's stock ‌to "sell" from "hold."

* Insurer Standard Life and speciality chemicals maker Croda International dropped more than 3% each, as their shares were trading ex-dividend. (Reporting by Sruthi Shankar and Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

Ceres Power

Standard Life

Croda International