European equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts were marginally lower late Wednesday morning, declining 0.04% to 1,880.82 on the S&P Europe Select ADR Index.

From continental Europe, the gainers were led by biopharmaceutical companies argenx (ARGX) and Grifols (GRFS), which advanced 3.4% and 1.8% respectively. They were followed by biopharmaceutical company Cellectis (CLLS) and medical device maker EDAP TMS (FOCL), which increased 1.4% and 1.2% respectively.

The decliners from continental Europe were led by accommodations booking site trivago (TRVG) and internet browser company Opera (OPRA), which fell 2.4% and 1.8% respectively. They were followed by lenders Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and Banco Santander (SAN), which were down 1.6% and 1.5% respectively.

The gainers from the UK were led by biopharmaceutical company Biodexa Pharmaceuticals (BDRX) and pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca (AZN), which climbed 26% and 3.6% respectively. They were followed by biotech firm Autolus Therapeutics (AUTL) and pharmaceutical company GSK (GSK), which rose 2.8% and 2.7% respectively.

The decliners from the UK and Ireland were led by biopharmaceutical companies Akari Therapeutics (AKTX) and Mereo BioPharma Group (MREO), which lost 8.2% and 5.6% respectively. They were followed by mining company BHP Group (BHP) and lender HSBC (HSBC), which dropped 2.3% and 1.6% respectively.