By Sarah Thompson Nov. 17 (Bloomberg) -- European stock-index futures slid, following declines in the U.S. and Asia, as oil and metals prices dropped on concern the worsening global economic slump will damp demand. BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, fell more than 4 percent in Australia. Tesco Plc may decrease after JPMorgan Chase & Co. recommended selling shares in Britain's biggest retailer on competition concerns. Hennes & Mauritz AB will probably be active after Europe's second-largest clothing retailer said sales at stores open at least a year dropped for a third month in October. Futures on the Dow Jones Euro Stoxx 50 Index, a benchmark for the euro region, fell 16, or 0.7 percent, to 2,449 at 7:05 a.m. in London. The U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index may decrease 27, according to CMC Markets, a betting firm. U.S. stocks tumbled on Nov. 14 as a record slump in retail sales heightened concern about the depth of the recession in the world's largest economy. The U.K. economy will contract the most in almost three decades next year, the Confederation of British Industry, the nation's biggest business lobby, said. ``European markets look set to open slightly lower,'' said Oliver Stevens, head of dealing at IG Markets in Melbourne. ``Investors are still wary of commodity stocks.'' Gross domestic product will drop 1.7 percent in 2009, the most since 1980, the CBI predicted. The recession is ``likely to be deeper and longer lasting,'' according to CBI. U.K., Japan U.K. house prices are falling at the fastest pace since at least 2002, Rightmove Plc said today. The average asking price for a home fell 7.1 percent from a year earlier, the most since records began six years ago, according to the country's most- used property Web site. Japan's economy, the world's second largest, unexpectedly shrank in the third quarter, entering the first recession since 2001 as companies cut spending. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index sank 0.6 percent with Mitsubishi Estate Co., Japan's largest developer by market value, sliding 5.4 percent. BHP lost 4.9 percent in Australian trading. Copper declined amid concern leaders from the Group of 20 nations may not be able to revive economic growth, curbing demand for raw materials. The metal for delivery in three months on the London Metal Exchange fell as much as 3.3 percent. Crude oil for December delivery dropped as much as $1.44, or 2.5 percent, to $55.60 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Tesco, H&M Tesco will probably slide after JPMorgan said discount grocer Aldi Group poses a ``major threat'' and cut its recommendation to ``underweight'' from ``neutral.'' H&M said same-store sales fell 2 percent last month. That beat the average analyst estimate in a SME Direkt survey for a 2.6 percent decline. Total revenue rose 9 percent, excluding currency swings. United Internet AG may fall after Credit Suisse Group AG cut Germany's third-largest Web-access provider to ``underperform'' from ``neutral,'' citing ``weaker-than- expected'' third-quarter results. ``We believe risk to 2009 conensus could be greater given a worsening European economy and ongoing DSL (digital subscriber line) competition,'' the bank added. To contact the reporter on this story: Sarah Thompson in London at sthompson17@bloomberg.net.

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