Mumbai, April 13 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with signiant losses in early afternoon trade, amid negative global cues, following the breakdown of U.S.-Iran ceasefire negotiations and a spike in crude oil prices, which heightened fears of an extended Middle East conflict. The Nifty traded below the 23,850 mark.

Oil & gas shares tumbled after advancing in the past trading session.

At 12:25 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex tanked 850.50 points or 1.10% to 76,699.75. The Nifty 50 index declined 239.80 points or 0.99% to 23,811.35.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index slipped 0.61% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 0.20%.

The market breadth was weak. On the BSE, 1,792 shares ...