Europe: Stocks extend longest losing streak of '15 as miners drop

[ZURICH] A decline in commodity producers helped send European stocks down for a sixth day.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index dropped 0.4 per cent to 383.85 at 8:11 a.m. in London. Mining stocks fell 0.7 per cent as a group after data showed the inflation rate in China, the world's biggest consumer of commodities, rose at a slower pace in May.

The Stoxx 600 is extending its lowest level since February and has lost 4.2 per cent in six days. Germany's DAX Index dropped 0.4 per cent after entering a correction on Monday. It's down 11 per cent from its April peak.

Stocks are dropping as Greece struggles to strike a debt deal after months of talks. Creditors are growing increasingly frustrated with the country's government after it rejected the terms of an aid package again last week and deferred a payment due to the International Monetary Fund.

Investors are also growing more concerned about the prospects of higher borrowing costs in the US, with jobs data on Friday bolstering the case for the Federal Reserve to go ahead with a rate increase this year.

HSBC Holdings Plc dropped 0.7 per cent after saying it will cut costs by eliminating as many as 25,000 jobs through 2017 and selling businesses in Turkey and Brazil.

BLOOMBERG