Stocks drop for third day as Infosys falls before results

Indian stocks declined, as the recent rally pushed equity valuations to near a six-year high.

The S&P BSE Sensex Index fell 0.4 per cent at 29,575.74 at close in Mumbai, while the Nifty 50 Index lost 0.2 per cent. Home-loan providers Housing Development Finance Corp and Indiabulls Housing Finance declined at least 1.2 per cent. Infosys tumbled the most since July before its earnings report on Thursday, the worst performance on the Sensex.

Stocks have set one record after the other this year amid a global rally in equities and a victory for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's party in a key state. The Nifty closed out the first three months of 2017 at the most expensive level since 2010. Its price-to-estimated earnings ratio has since slipped with the start of the new fiscal year.