The Benchmark BSE Sensex tumbled about 184 points Wednesday to close at a two-week low of 28,155.56 with auto, realty and pharma counters taking a big hit.

Among laggards that dragged down the key indices were Tata Motors, Sun Pharma and DLF.

As a result of disappointed December-quarter earnings by major players, Indian shares fell on Wednesday, with Tata Motors and Sun Pharmaceutical Industries weighing on the indexes.

Domestic rating agency Indian Ratings and Research on Wednesday released a report on health of large public sector banks and private banks.

The 50-share NSE Nifty broke below the 8,800-mark by falling 12.75 points, or 0.14 percent to 8,792.30 after moving between 8,820.45 and 8,772.50.

The fundamental pressure on USD/INR is on upside and the pair is heading towards a level of 72-73 by December-end this year, says an Edelweiss Securities report.

Leading stock exchanges BSE and NSE will shift 47 companies to the restricted trading segment from Thursday as a safeguard for investors.

Snapping its three-day winning streak, market benchmark BSE Sensex fell over 38 points in early trade today on profit-booking in recent gainers, despite inflation fell to multi-year low of 3.17 percent in January.

In a crackdown on alleged misuse of P-Notes for round-tripping, markets regulator Sebi has found five foreign funds to have issued these controversy- ridden offshore investment instruments to Indian nationals.

The 50-share Nifty too settled 11.50 points or 0.13 percent higher at 8,805.05 after moving between 8,826.90 and 8,754.20.

Driven by strong participation from retail investors, mutual fund (MF) houses have registered an addition of around 62 lakh investor accounts in the first 10 months of the current fiscal, taking the total tally to 5.4 crore.

The benchmark BSE Sensex extended gains for the third straight day by surging about 125 points, and the NSE Nifty again reclaimed the 8,800-level in early trade today despite disappointing macroeconomic data.

Trading in corporate debt at stock exchanges hit a record Rs 11.70 lakh crore during the first 10 months of the current fiscal.

Last leg of quarterly earnings, inflation data and trend in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly polls would dictate the sentiment in the stock market going ahead, say experts.

Sebi on Saturday announced review of norms governing stock exchanges, commodity derivatives market and reducing the listing time as part of reform measures while the regulator also apprised its board of actions taken in co-location issues related to NSE and the NSEL scam.

Emphasising that Indian securities market has seen significant developments, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said the regulator is evolving in accordance with the needs of the economy and markets.

Pursuing reforms in the commodities derivatives market, Sebi on Saturday said it is committed to allow options trading in the segment as well as look at permitting institutional participation in this market in a phased manner.

Indian equities markets sustained their bull run for the third consecutive week as positive global cues, coupled with a strong rupee, higher crude prices and inflow of foreign funds, kept investors` sentiments upbeat.

A day after being named the next Sebi chief, senior bureaucrat Ajay Tyagi today said it is a big responsibility and he is looking forward to handling it.

He will succeed U K Sinha, whose extended tenure ends on March 1.