Asian stocks slide

GLOBAL MARKETS

Asian stocks dropped from a record after falling commodity prices pulled down shares of BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto Group.

"The copper price came off a touch overnight, enough to stop a fairly sizeable rally in BHP and Rio,'' said Hans Kunnen, who helps manage the equivalent of $111 billion at Colonial First State Investment Management Australia in Sydney. "The metals stocks are taking a breather."

Honda Motor led declines among Japanese automakers on speculation profits will be curbed by slower growth this year. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 Index retreated from an all-time high after a A$11.1 billion buyout offer for Qantas Airways failed.

China's shares surged, following a week-long holiday, after record numbers of investors opened brokerage accounts to join a rally that's made the market the world's best performer in the past year.

Benchmarks fell elsewhere, except in New Zealand, the Philippines and Pakistan. The Morgan Stanley Capital International Asia-Pacific Index lost 0.2 percent to 149.16 at 7:19 p.m. in Tokyo.In Japan, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 0.1 percent while the Topix index was little changed.

Europe

European stocks fell after Royal KPN NV, the largest phone company in the Netherlands, reported earnings that missed analysts' estimates and chemical maker Clariant AG's profit dropped.

Europe's Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index has rallied 6.7 per cent this year, closing yesterday at the highest since September 2000, as bid speculation intensified and earnings projections beat estimates. The Stoxx 600 lost 0.7 per cent to 390.04 as of 12:55 pm in London.

US

U.S. stock-index futures fell on concern earnings growth won't be enough to sustain a five-week rally. Health-care and electronics products maker Tyco International Ltd. fell after announcing quarterly results. Cisco Systems, the world's biggest maker of computer networking equipment, also dropped.

Standard & Poor's 500 Index futures expiring in June fell 4.5 to 1509.80 as of 11:55 am in London. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slid 40 to 13,300. Nasdaq 100 Index futures decreased 6.75 to 1900. Takeovers helped U.S. stocks rally for a fifth consecutive day yesterday, marking the market's best initial performance in May in 17 years. Alcoa Inc.'s $26.9 billion unsolicited offer for Alcan Inc. spurred the Dow Jones Industrial Average to its 24th gain in 27 days "" the longest stretch since 1927.