Frankfurt (Reuters) - Europe's stock markets continue to lack momentum.

Supported by price gains at Siemens, the Dax was 0.4 percent higher at 15,959 points on Wednesday afternoon, while the EuroStoxx50 was treading water at 4321 points. According to traders, investors were mainly waiting for a breakthrough in the dispute over raising the US debt ceiling. "Despite some progress in the talks, there are still considerable hurdles to overcome," Commerzbank economists summarized. "Meanwhile, the money in the coffers is running out."

The US Treasury Department fears that it will only be able to pay the federal government's bills until June 1 without an agreement. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned of a global stock market quake should the US default. Weak economic data from China also dampened the mood on the financial markets. Industrial production and retail sales grew less strongly than expected in April.

US futures were up slightly in pre-market trading in the afternoon. Western Alliance countered investor concerns about a liquidity crisis in the US regional banking system and reported deposit growth of more than two billion dollars as at May 12. The shares gained eleven percent in pre-market trading.

On the German stock market, Commerzbank scared off investors with its outlook. The bank's shares fell by 7.9 percent to 9.11 euros at the peak. This put them at the bottom of the DAX by some distance and the lowest they have been in seven weeks. In the view of Coba CFO Bettina Orlopp, net interest income is likely to have peaked in the current year. The forecast, which has been raised to 7 billion euros for the year as a whole, is still below the estimates of some analysts, said a trader. Investors also do not like the fact that further charges cannot be ruled out at the Polish subsidiary mBank.

The pan-European stock exchange operator Euronext also fell due to declining trading turnover and earnings in the quarter. The shares lost up to 5.5 percent on the Paris stock exchange to a six-month low of 65.50 euros. The development of the return on sales and market share raised questions, Credit Suisse said. The shares of the London Stock Exchange also fell by up to 5.1 percent to a three-week low following a placement. A consortium of investors consisting of the US company Blackstone and Thomson Reuters sold shares in the stock exchange operator worth the equivalent of around 3.1 billion euros, according to one of the accompanying banks.

INVESTORS SATISFIED WITH SIEMENS FIGURES

Siemens, on the other hand, was able to score points with investors. The results presented were "excellent", summarized the analysts at Berenberg. Investors should be pleased in view of the continuing good order situation and strong margins. "There is little for the bears to criticize and much for the bulls to like." Siemens shares rose by up to three percent to 154.14 euros - the highest level since the beginning of January 2022.

Investors at SAP were also satisfied with the raised medium-term forecasts and planned share buybacks. The software company's shares rose by 1.6 percent. Shares in ThyssenKrupp climbed by up to 8.6 percent to a three-week high of 6.96 euros. According to a report by the Bloomberg agency, plans for an IPO of the hydrogen subsidiary Nucera in June are taking shape. The valuation could be around four billion euros, according to the report. Reuters had learned from insiders around two weeks ago that the valuation could be in the range of two to five billion euros.

(Report by Anika Ross, edited by Christian Rüttger. If you have any questions, please contact our editorial team at berlin.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for politics and the economy) or frankfurt.newsroom@thomsonreuters.com (for companies and markets).)