Europe shares resume slide on slowdown jitters

European shares dropped on Monday, resuming last week's selloff as fears of a global slowdown mounted while reports that European leaders were mulling additional ways to stem contagion from the Greek debt crisis failed to reassure investors, Reuters reported. At 0708 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was down 1.1 percent at 872.33 points after tumbling 5.9 percent last week, while the euro fell to an eight-month low of $1.3364 against the dollar. Cyclical shares sank, with miners Xstrata and Rio Tinto losing 3.8 percent and 3.6 percent respectively as London copper futures plummeted more than 7 percent to hit their weakest since July 2010. "European stocks have been hit by the worst-case scenarios being priced in, but people underestimate the region's mechanisms to solve the debt crisis," Christian Jimenez, fund manager and president of Diamant Bleu Gestion, said. "Stronger signals from European leaders and clear measures to deal with Greece's debt could soon emerge, and that would spark a sharp rally in European shares."