Mumbai, Feb. 4 -- The domestic equity benchmarks traded sideways in the morning trade as sharp selling in IT stocks weighed on sentiment following an overnight technology-led rout in U.S. markets. The weakness was compounded by profit-booking after the previous session's strong India-US trade deal-driven rally, while escalating geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran further dampened risk appetite and kept investors cautious.

The Nifty traded above the 25,700 level, while IT shares tanked after advancing for previous trading session.

At 10:28 ST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, shed 64.03 points or 0.08% to 83,677.57. The Nifty 50 index added 14.15 points or 0.05% to 25,741.70.

The broader market outperformed the front...