Stocks head south across the globe

LONDON: European and Asian stocks fell and US index futures retreated as Chinese shares slumped and a decline in commodity prices pushed raw-material producers lower.

BHP Billiton Ltd slid 1 percent as copper, tin and nickel slipped on the London Metal Exchange. Alcoa Inc dropped 4.5 percent after Goldman Sachs Group Inc downgraded the company's shares to "neutral" from "buy".

The MSCI World Index sank 0.5 percent as of 11:46 am in London. The gauge of 23 developed nations has rallied 51 percent since March 9 as companies from GlaxoSmithKline Plc to Intel Corp reported better-than-estimated results and Germany and France unexpectedly returned to economic growth.