Mumbai, March 11 -- Indian equity markets started the day on a cautious footing, but the mood soured quickly as a broad-based sell-off gathered pace. Benchmark indices fell nearly 2% on Wednesday, closing at a 10-month low, quickly erasing the optimism seen in the previous session. Early hopes that tensions in West Asia might cool soon faded as reports of fresh military activity surfaced and concerns about a protracted closure of the Strait of Hormuz returned. Wednesday's sell-off wiped out Rs.5.48 lakh crore in BSE's market capitalization in a single session. Since the US-Iran war began, BSE-listed companies have together seen nearly Rs.21.95 lakh crore of investor wealth evaporate, underscoring the toll the geopolitical turmoil has taken ...