India’s benchmark stock-index slid for the first time in three days, led by energy companies and utilities.

Oil & Natural Gas Corp. (ONGC), the nation’s largest explorer, dropped ahead of its results, halting a four-day rally. Coal India Ltd. (COAL), the world’s largest producer of the fuel, fell 1.7 percent after posting a decline in profit. Drugmaker Cipla Ltd. headed for a two-month low after its quarterly net income fell short of the median analyst forecast.

The S&P BSE Sensex (SENSEX) retreated 0.5 percent to 20,366.41 at 10:11 am in Mumbai. Global investors sold a net $ 32 million of local shares on Feb. 11, extending this year’s outflows to $ 329 million, data compiled by Bloomberg show. They invested $ 20 billion last year, the most in Asia after Japan, and $ 24.6 billion in 2012, the data show.

Eighteen out of 24 Sensex companies, or 75 percent, that have reported earnings for December quarter so far have beaten or matched analyst estimates, compared with 70 percent in the September quarter and 47 percent three months earlier.

The Sensex has dropped 3.8 percent this year and trades at 13.2 times projected 12-month earnings, compared the five-year average multiple of 14.4. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is valued at 9.2 times.

To contact the reporter on this story: Santanu Chakraborty in Mumbai at schakrabor11@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Patterson at mpatterson10@bloomberg.net