Exchange operators, US debt ceiling jitters weigh on European shares

May 17 (Reuters) – European shares slipped on Wednesday as investors remained concerned about whether the outcome of the US debt ceiling negotiations would result in averting a default, while a slew of downbeat earnings, led by exchange operators, weighed on the mood.

The continent-wide STOXX 600 was down 0.3% as of 0716 GMT, with financial services companies and real estate firms  leading declines.

Euronext  dropped 4.2% after the exchange operator reported a fall in first-quarter revenue and income, while the London Stock Exchange Group dipped 4.2% after an investor consortium, including US buyout firm Blackstone and Thomson Reuters, sold shares worth about 2.7 billion pounds (USD 3.41 billion).

German lender Commerzbank AG slipped 3.7% even as its net profit nearly doubled in the first quarter.

UBS Group AG was flat after the Swiss bank said it expects a financial hit of about USD 17 billion from the takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG.

Among the bright spots, SAP added 1.6% after the German business software maker raised its 2025 total revenue outlook for continuing operations and announced a share buyback of up to 5 billion euros.

Siemens AG climbed 2.7% after the German engineering and technology group raised its full-year sales and profit guidance.

(Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Sonia Cheema)