Asian stocks slide as oil below $44; European shares fluctuate

Australia's benchmark had its biggest loss in a month as BHP Billiton Ltd. plunged by the most since 2008 in Sydney. Indonesia's sank to a two-month low after data showed its gross domestic product grew less than economists forecast, Bloomberg reported. Russia's ruble slid more than 2 percent in its first trading session of the week after oil tumbled by about 5 percent in the last two days. A gauge of dollar strength rose, extending Tuesday's bounce from the weakest level in almost a year, after Federal Reserve officials flagged the possibility of an interest-rate hike in June.
Global stocks' rebound from a three-year low in February suffered a setback over the past two weeks as economic reports and corporate earnings underwhelmed investors. Citigroup Inc.'s Economic Surprise Index for the U.S. has fallen to its weakest level since February and analysts are predicting an 8 percent decline in quarterly profits for S&P 500 companies. U.K. manufacturing unexpectedly shrank for the first time in three years in April, while China's weakened, reports indicated on Tuesday.
"In a now familiar theme, traders are becoming concerned about the possibility that the next volatile market swing, in this case downward, may not be too far away," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst in Sydney at CMC Markets. "Both U.S. stock market valuations and commodity prices have risen to levels that could be difficult to sustain against the ongoing reality of sluggish global demand growth."
Gauges of last month's services output are due Tuesday for the U.S., the euro area, the U.K. and India. The U.S. also has reports on employment and durable goods orders, while Tesla Motors Inc. and Time Warner Inc. are among American companies that will release quarterly earnings.

Stocks
The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was down 0.2 percent as of 8:22 a.m. London time, after earlier gaining 0.1 percent. Siemens, Europe's largest engineering company, rose 1.1 percent and Societe Generale climbed 3.5 percent after both reported better earnings than analysts forecast. Anheuser-Busch InBev NV -- the world's largest brewer -- slid 2.9 percent after reporting sales and profit growth that missed estimates.
The MSCI Asia Pacific excluding Japan Index dropped 1.1 percent, its biggest loss in a month. Benchmarks in Singapore, Sydney and Taipei fell by more than 1 percent.
In Australia, BHP Billiton tumbled as much as 10 percent -- its biggest intraday loss since 2008 -- after it was named in a $44 billion law suit over a dam rupture in Brazil that caused deaths and severe environmental damage. Woolworths Ltd., the nation's largest supermarket chain, sank as much as 7.2 percent after S&P Global Ratings downgraded its assessment of the company.
The Jakarta Composite Index fell 0.4 percent. Indonesia, Southeast Asia's largest economy, reported GDP growth of 4.9 percent for the first quarter, less than the 5.1 percent forecast by economists in a Bloomberg survey.
Futures on the S&P 500 were little changed, after the U.S. benchmark lost 0.9 percent in the last session.
"The continued narrative is that the global economy is not very strong, even if the U.S. is the best of the bunch," said Joe Bell, a Cincinnati-based senior equity analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research Inc. "We've had such a strong run-up over the last few months that we're in a bit of a consolidation phase."

Currencies
The Bloomberg Dollar Spot Index, which tracks the greenback against 10 major peers, rose 0.1 percent after gaining 0.7 percent in the last session. Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart said Tuesday that the Federal Open Market Committee could move on rates in June if warranted, though he is not leaning in either direction at this point. San Francisco Fed President John Williams says that he would support a rate hike next month provided the U.S. economy stayed on track.
The Japanese yen fell 0.2 percent to 106.85 per dollar. Finance Minister Taro Aso said Tuesday, when the currency reached an 18-month high of 105.55, that the government is monitoring speculative foreign-exchange trades and will respond if needed. The yen has strengthened more than twice as much as any other major currency in the past week as the Bank of Japan unexpectedly refrained from adding to stimulus at a policy review.
The ruble slid 2.5 percent as this week's slide in crude prices dimmed prospects for Russia's energy exports. Malaysia's ringgit slumped as much as 1.5 percent to its weakest level since March, also weighed down by the drop in oil. South Korea's won lost 1.2 percent.
"The market is grasping the view that the dollar probably fell a little too much, and a rebound could be ahead, and this seems to have deteriorated sentiment towards emerging-market assets including the won," said Jeon Seung Ji, a currency analyst in Seoul at Samsung Futures Inc.
Commodities
Crude oil advanced 0.6 percent to $43.90 a barrel, after losing more than 2 percent in each of the last two sessions. U.S. inventories increased by 1.3 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute was said to report Tuesday. Government data Wednesday is forecast to show supplies rose by 750,000 barrels.
Gold fell as much as 0.6 percent to $1,278.99 an ounce, reflecting the dollar's rebound. The metal reached $1,303.82 on Monday, the highest intraday level since January 2015.
Zinc and lead dropped by about 0.6 percent in London, while copper fell 0.1 percent.
Bonds
The yield on Australia's 10-year government bonds fell four basis points to a three-week low of 2.43 percent, after the rate on similar-maturity U.S. Treasuries slid eight basis points on Tuesday to 1.80 percent. The latter was little changed on Wednesday.