European stocks fell, extending their biggest drop in more than a week, after minutes showed that Bank of England policy makers voted unanimously against further bond purchases at their meeting earlier this month. U.S. index futures dropped and Asian shares were little changed.

In the U.S., Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke will begin his two-day semi-annual monetary-policy report to Congress today. He may face questions from lawmakers on how quickly the central bank plans to scale back its monthly asset purchases. U.S. equity benchmarks rose to records and European stocks rallied last week after the Fed chairman said that the U.S. economy will continue to need stimulus measures.

L’Oreal SA declined 3.8 percent after posting second-quarter sales growth that missed analysts’ estimates.

BHP Billiton Ltd. rose 1 percent after saying quarterly iron-ore output jumped 17 percent.

FTSE 100 6,522.07 -34.28 -0.52%

CAC 40 3,829.68 -21.35 -0.55%

DAX 8,152.43 -48.62 -0.59%