Mumbai, Sept. 11 -- The key equity benchmarks continued to trade with major cuts in mid-morning trade as Brent crude surged to $110 per barrel amid an escalation in the Middle East conflict, prompting investors to flee risk assets. India remains particularly vulnerable to higher oil prices. The Nifty traded below the 23,350 mark, while metal shares extended losses for the second consecutive trading session.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tanked 385.82 points or 0.52% to 74,518.60. The Nifty 50 index lost 135.50 points or 0.58% to 23,342.30.

In the broader market, the BSE 150 MidCap Index fell 0.64% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index shed 0.65%.

The market breadth was negative. On the BSE, 1,368 shares rose and 2,64...