Mumbai, March 2 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded with deep cuts in the afternoon trade as investors reacted to escalating tensions in the Middle East, with reports of intensified U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran prompting a sharp rise in crude oil prices and triggering risk-off sentiment that led Indian markets to fall over 1%.

The Nifty traded below the 24,750 mark. Consumer durables shares declined after advancing in the past three consecutive trading sessions.

At 12:26 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, plunged 1,483.13 points or 1.82% to 79,806.13. The Nifty 50 index fell 449.60 points or 1.79% to 24,727.30.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index slumped 2.03% and the BSE 250...