Mumbai, April 13 -- The key equity benchmarks continued to trade with major cuts in mid-morning trade, tracking weak global cues after the breakdown of U.S.-Iran ceasefire talks and a sharp surge in crude oil prices, which heightened concerns that the Middle East conflict could prolong and disrupt global markets. The Nifty traded below the 23,300 level. Auto shares declined after advancing in the previous trading session.

At 11:30 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tanked 1,036.10 points or 1.34% to 76,514.15. The Nifty 50 index declined 295.50 points or 1.23% to 23,754.05.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index slipped 0.56% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index fell 0.19%.

The market bread...