Mumbai, June 8 -- The key equity benchmarks traded with major cuts in morning trade, mirroring a broad selloff across Asian markets amid escalating geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and a sharp rise in crude oil prices. Investor sentiment was further pressured by concerns over a possible interest rate hike in the United States. Nifty traded below the 23,200 level. Realty shares declined after advancing over the previous two trading sessions.

At 10:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tanked 596.85 points or 0.80% to 73,636.95. The Nifty 50 index fell 173.95 points or 0.74% to 23,190.45.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index declined 0.85% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index shed 0.91%.

The market breadth was wea...