Mumbai, March 4 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded with significant losses in the morning trade, as lingering geopolitical tensions in West Asia continued to spook investors. With the war involving the US, Israel and Iran entering its fifth day, both sides have intensified military actions, triggering a global risk-off sentiment.

The Nifty traded below the 24,400 level. PSU Bank shares extended losses for the third consecutive trading session.

At 10:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, slumped 1,366.84 points or 1.71% to 78,870.75. The Nifty 50 index tanked 474.30 points or 1.91% to 24,394.50.

The broader market underperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index declined 2.19% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index...