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 ( CPWHF ) 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 ( COIHF ) dropped more than 3% each, as

their shares were trading ex-dividend.