The Indian stock market fell on Wednesday, with the Sensex and Nifty trading lower as escalating tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices above $92 a barrel.Sensex tumbled over 600 points to the day's low of 76,861, while Nifty 50 declined over 150 points to slip below 24,050 level. After showing resilience in the previous few sessions, broader markets also slipped into the red today, with Nifty Smallcap 100 and Nifty Midcap 100 indices falling up to 0.5%.Pharma stocks emerged among the top laggards, falling up to 4% after US President Donald Trump unveiled a phased tariff plan on imported generic medicines, granting drugmakers a two-year reprieve before steeper duties take effect.IndiGo and Sun Pharma shares dropped 2-3% to lead losses on the Sensex. Tech Mahindra and Infosys shares fell more than 1% each, while SBI, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, Axis Bank, TCS, HCL Tech and Kotak Mahindra Bank shares fell nearly 1% each. Bucking the trend, Maruti Suzuki, Titan, Hindustan Unilever, Asian Paints, Eternal, M&M and Bajaj Finance shares were trading in the green with marginal gains.India VIX, which measures volatility in the market, jumped 3% to 12.98 amid the rise in uncertainties. Sectorally, Nifty Pharma dropped over 1% after Trump’s fresh tariff threats spooked investors. The overall market breadth was bearish, with NSE seeing 1,496 declines and 906 advances, while 102 stocks remained unchanged.Iran-US conflict escalates furtherThree oil tankers carrying Saudi crude to Asia reversed their course in the ⁠Red Sea on Tuesday allegedly after threats from Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, as the widening Middle East conflict disrupted shipping through two of the world's most critical energy chokepoints.With Iran already threatening shipping through ‌the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea has served as the main alternate route out for millions of barrels of Saudi oil per day. As a result of the latest escalations, oil prices jumped to cross $92 per barrel, further spooking investors.What lies ahead?The continuing US-Iran conflict and rising Brent crude price will continue to weigh on markets despite positive news on other fronts, said VK Vijayakumar, Chief Investment Strategist at Geojit Investments. He added that the early automobile Q1 numbers are impressive and management commentary reflects optimism. Exports, too, are doing well. The price correction in some of the leading banking names appears to be over, the analyst said, adding that there is value in this segment. “Rupee is likely to remain stable buoyed by positive news on the dollar flows from FCNR deposits which has crossed $20 billion now. The inflows are likely to gather momentum, going forward,” he added.“Weakening of the chip trade and sharp correction in markets like South Korea during the last one month are making India relatively stable and attractive from the valuation perspective. FPIs are not selling big in India now and are turning buyers on some days. Dips in the market will provide buying opportunities in fundamentally sound stocks. The outperformance of the broader market may continue in the near-term,” according to Vijayakumar.Technical view on NiftyWhile yesterday’s dips were limited, Nifty’s efforts to push above 24,220 were lukewarm, restraining Anand James, Chief Market Strategist at Geojit Investments, from persisting with upside views. A buy on dips approach is still favoured by the analyst, as long as downsides do not stretch much beyond 24,099. Nifty inability to do so may not lead to a collapse though, as momentum indicators appear weak, James further said.(With inputs from agencies)(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)