Updates for morning trade

By Bharath Rajeswaran and Vivek Kumar M

July 14 (Reuters) - Indian shares fell on Tuesday as rising Middle East tensions pushed oil prices up and added to worries about inflation in the world's third-largest oil importer.

The U.S. military carried out a third consecutive night of strikes against Iran on Monday as President Donald Trump reinstated a blockade of Iranian shipping and proposed charging a 20% fee to guard the Strait of Hormuz.

The benchmark Nifty 50 .NSEI fell 0.54% to 24,076.10, while the BSE Sensex .BSESN lost 0.62% to 77,141.40 by 9:48 a.m. IST.

Twelve of the 16 major sectors declined. High-weightage financials .NIFTYFIN and banks .NSEBANK lost 1.2% each.

Auto index .NIFTYAUTO slipped 1.6% as rising crude prices fanned worries over fuel costs and crude-linked input pressures. The broader small-caps .NIFSMCP100 and mid-caps .NIFMDCP100 fell 0.6% each.

Brent crude LCOc1 briefly surpassed $85 per barrel, its highest since the U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding to end the war on June 17. O/R

Higher crude prices hurt India, the world's third-largest oil importer, by widening its import bill, straining the fiscal deficit, stoking inflation and pressuring corporate margins.

"Global cues remain negative, with elevated crude prices and U.S.-Iran tensions weighing on risk sentiment," said Sachin Gupta, vice president of technical research at Choice Broking.

The rebound from the previous session's lows signals underlying market resilience, with the Nifty 50 consolidating between support at 24,000 and selling pressure at 24,250–24,300, Gupta said.

HCLTech HCLT.NS fell 2.2% as brokerages flagged that its unchanged growth outlook pointed to lingering demand uncertainty and slower revenue conversion.

Biocon BION.NS surged 6%, leading pharma index .NIPHARM 0.8% higher. About 46 million shares of drug maker changed hands in a block deal on Tuesday, according to exchange data.

Viatris' Mylan plans to sell up to 92 million Biocon shares, worth as much as $363 million, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters.