European equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts were trending lower late Thursday morning, declining 0.29% to 1,585.59 on the S&P Europe Select ADR Index.

From continental Europe, the gainers were led by biopharmaceutical companies DBV Technologies (DBVT) and Genfit (GNFT), which climbed 9.7% and 3.9%, respectively. They were followed by biopharmaceutical company argenx (ARGX) and biotech firm Evaxion (EVAX), which advanced 2.5% and 1.5%, respectively.

The decliners from continental Europe were led by pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk (NVO) and lender Banco Santander (SAN), which fell 1.6% and 1.5%, respectively. They were followed by lender ING Group (ING) and pharmaceutical company Ascendis Pharma (ASND), which dropped 1.4% each.

From the UK and Ireland, the gainers were led by biopharmaceutical companies Adaptimmune Therapeutics (ADAP) and Biodexa Pharmaceuticals (BDRX), which rose 6% and 3.7%, respectively. They were followed by biotech firm Trinity Biotech (TRIB) and biopharmaceutical company Bicycle (BCYC), which were up 3% and 1.2%, respectively.

The decliners from the UK and Ireland were led by biopharmaceutical companies Akari Therapeutics (AKTX) and Mereo BioPharma Group (MREO), which lost 3.5% and 3.4%, respectively. They were followed by insurance company Prudential (PUK) and communications company WPP (WPP), which were off 3.2% and 2.7%, respectively.