The Indian markets opened on a muted note with the Sensex opening at 84,811.95, rising 33 points and the Nifty opened at 25,986.45, increasing over 20 points.

Among the top gainers in the markets were stocks such as Tata Steel, State Bank of India, L&T, Adani Ports and Maruti and the laggards included stocks like TCS, Infosys, Bharat Electronics, Ultra Cement and Bajaj Finserv.

In the pre-open session, at around 9:13 AM, the Sensex was trading at 84,625.71, rising 153 points and the Nifty was trading at 25,939.95 inching-up by 26 points.

The Gift Nifty at 8:24 AM, indicated a fall of more than 15 points with the index trading at 26,046.50.

Reason Behind Pared Gains

The Indian markets have reversed course from yesterday's gains on Tuesday as the Sensex closed 566 points higher at 84,778.84 and the Nifty ended at 25,966 or 170 points higher.

The broader tone for domestic equities remains cautiously bullish, supported by stronger-than-expected Q2 earnings and steady domestic institutional inflows, which continue to sustain market momentum.

The Indian markets had also witnessed a broad-based recovery earlier, driven by progress in US-China trade negotiations. Softer-than-expected US CPI data also renewed hopes of a Federal Reserve rate cut this week, further boosting investor confidence.

However, lingering uncertainty over the India-US trade deal has tempered investor expectations, triggering bouts of profit-booking at higher levels as market participants weigh short-term risks against robust underlying fundamentals.