FTSE 100 rallies to one-month high following US-Iran ceasefire agreement

April 8 (Reuters) - The UK's FTSE 100 rallied to one-month highs on Wednesday after an agreement between the United States and Iran on a two-week ceasefire, sending global stocks surging and oil prices sharply lower.

U.S. President Donald Trump announced the agreement late on Tuesday, just two hours before a deadline he had set for Iran to open the blockaded Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its "whole civilisation".

The last-minute turnaround helped lift sentiment as traders anticipated a revival of shipping through the strait, which handles about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.

The blue-chip FTSE 100 index .FTSE rose 2.9% by 1042 GMT, touching its highest level since March 3, while the midcap FTSE 250 .FTMC soared 4.5% to its highest since March 10.

• Heavyweight oil companies, including BP BP.L and Shell SHEL.L, dropped more than 5% each, tracking a near 15% plunge in crude prices LCOc1, CLc1. O/R

• Shell cut its first-quarter gas production outlook while signalling a surge in oil trading profit and a dent to short-term liquidity, offering an early glance into the whiplash effect of the Middle East conflict on oil majors' earnings.

• All the other major FTSE 350 subsectors rose, led by rate-sensitive homebuilders, banks and travel companies.

• Investors priced in around 35 basis points of interest rate hikes by the Bank of England this year - or one and two quarter-point increases - compared with 63 bps on Tuesday.

• British house prices slid unexpectedly last month as economic uncertainty stemming from the Iran war hurt buyer demand, according to mortgage lender Halifax.

• British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will travel to the Gulf on Wednesday to hold talks with regional leaders to try to ensure the Strait of Hormuz opens permanently after a U.S.-Iran ceasefire, his office said.

• Gamma Communications GAMA.L jumped almost 14% after the British telecom firm said it is in preliminary discussions with a number of parties for a potential sale.