Mumbai, March 6 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded with significant losses in morning trade, as escalating tensions in the Middle East involving Iran, the U.S., and Israel weighed on investor sentiment.

The Nifty traded near the 24,650 mark. Private Bank shares declined after advancing in previous trading session.

At 10:30 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, tanked 403.68 points or 0.50% to 79,612.22. The Nifty 50 index fell 114.16 points or 0.46% to 24,651.75.

The broader market outperformed the frontline indices. The BSE 150 MidCap Index added 0.25% and the BSE 250 SmallCap Index jumped 0.44%.

The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 2,197 shares rose and 1,378 shares fell. A total of 238 shares were unchanged.

Buz...