Market benchmarks Sensex and Nifty started on a cautious note on Wednesday as weakness in global equities led by uncertainty over US-China trade deal and political unrest in Hong Kong kept investors on edge.

After jumping over 100 points in opening session, the 30-share index pared gains to trade 19.98 points, or 0.05 per cent, higher at 40,365.06.

Top gainers in the Sensex pack included Yes Bank, TCS, RIL, HCL Tech, Asian Paints, HUL and HDFC Bank, rising up to 2.05 per cent.On the other hand, Infosys, Bharti Airtel, SBI, Bajaj Finance, ICICI Bank, HDFC and ITC fell up to 1.37 per cent.

On Monday, the Sensex ended 21.47 points, or 0.05 per cent, higher at 40,345.08. Similarly, the Nifty closed with a gain of mere 5.30 points, or 0.04 per cent, at 11,913.45.

Foreign institutional investors purchased shares worth Rs 664.20 crore in the capital market in the previous session, while domestic institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 245.06 crore, data available with stock exchange showed.