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By Bloomberg

Indian stocks retreated for the third day led by shares of software exporters and metal producers before the start of the quarterly earnings season.

Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. fell for a third day before the nation’s biggest software services exporter posts results for the quarter ended June on Thursday. Tata Motors Ltd. tumbled to a 15-month low amid concern that China sales of its Jaguar Land Rover unit may slow. Vedanta Ltd., the biggest copper producer, plunged to its lowest level since August 2013. Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd., among the nation’s largest engineering companies, both rallied to a four- month high.

The S&P BSE Sensex lost 0.4 percent to 27,573.66 at the close in Mumbai Thursday, after swinging between gains and losses at least 20 times. Tata Consultancy was due to kick off the earnings-reporting season for the quarter ended June 30 for Sensex companies after the market close on Thursday.

“The markets are volatile because investors are looking for clarity on Greece, China, corporate earnings, the monsoon and reforms,” Vaibhav Sanghavi, managing director at Ambit Investment Advisors Pvt., said by telephone in Mumbai. “The earnings season will be closely watched.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed on Thursday as Chinese equity gauges rebounded with more than half of mainland stocks suspended. Greece’s government, which extended capital controls through Monday, is rushing to pull together a detailed economic package to convince European leaders that it can keep the euro.

Infosys, Wipro

Locally, concern over inflation has resurfaced as potentially deficient monsoon rains threaten to hurt crops and stoke food costs, which make up about half of India’s consumer price inflation basket. The national weather bureau predicts the June-September showers will be 88 percent of a 50-year average this year. Rainfall has been 4 percent below normal since June 1.

Tata Consultancy decreased 2.8 percent, the most since April 17. The company’s profit will probably climb 9 percent from a year earlier to 55.1 billion rupees ($867 million), according to the median estimate of 27 analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Infosys Ltd., the company’s nearest competitor, fell 2 percent, in a fourth day of decline. Wipro Ltd., the third- biggest software services provider, lost 1.4 percent.

Forty percent of the Sensex’s 30 companies beat or matched profit estimates in the March quarter, compared with 47 percent in the October-December period and 67 percent in the three months to September, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Tata Motors, Vedanta

Tata Motors lost 1.8 percent, extending Wednesday’s 6.2 percent slide. The company’s Jaguar Land Rover unit probably earns more than half of its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization from China, according to a Sanford C. Bernstein Ltd. report dated June 23.

Vedanta plunged 4.7 percent, taking this week’s loss to 19 percent. Tata Steel Ltd., the biggest producer of the alloy, fell 0.9 percent to its lowest level since October 2013.

Copper prices have fallen as much as 9.5 percent this week, in part on concerns the plunge in Chinese stocks will lead to a slowdown in economic growth and therefore demand for the metal in the country.

Larsen & Toubro climbed 2.4 percent, while Bharat Heavy Electricals added 3.7 percent.

Global investors bought a net $461.5 million of Indian stocks on July 6, taking this year’s inflows to $6.8 billion.