European equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts were trending lower late Wednesday morning, declining 0.9% to 1,215.82 on the S&P Europe Select ADR Index.

From continental Europe, the gainers were led by financial services companies Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) and Banco Santander (SAN), which rose 2.8% and 2% respectively, followed by software firm SAP (SAP), which was up 0.3%.

The decliners from continental Europe were led by biopharmaceutical companies Ascendis Pharma (ASND) and DBV Technologies (DBVT), which dropped 7.7% and 5.6% respectively. They were followed by biopharmaceutical companies Genfit (GNFT) and argenx (ARGX), which lost 4.8% and 4.4% respectively.

From the UK and Ireland, the gainers were led by biopharmaceutical company NuCana (NCNA) and mining company BHP Group (BHP), which climbed 8.3% and 2.2% respectively. They were followed by cruise line operator Carnival (CUK) and biopharmaceutical company Amarin (AMRN), which increased 2% and 1% respectively.

The decliners from the UK and Ireland were led by biopharmaceutical companies Verona Pharma (VRNA) and Mereo BioPharma (MREO), which fell 10.8% and 8.8% respectively. They were followed by biopharmaceutical company Biodexa Pharmaceuticals (BDRX) and biotech firm Trinity Biotech (TRIB), which were down 2.8% and 0.8% respectively.