11:18 AM EST, 03/08/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts were lower on Friday morning, down 0.4% to 1,368.33 on the S&P Europe Select ADR Index.

From continental Europe, the gainers were led by Spanish pharmaceutical and chemicals company Grifols ( GRFS ) and Norwegian tech company Opera (OPRA), which jumped 22% and 12%, respectively.

They were followed by electronics company Sequans Communications ( SQNS ) , which gained 7.1%.

The decliners from continental Europe were led by Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) and Finnish electronics company Nokia ( NOK ) , which shed 2.4% and 1.6%, respectively.

From the UK and Ireland, the gainers were led by cruise line operator Carnival (CUK) and crypto miner Argo Blockchain ( ARBK ) , which each rose past 5%.

The decliners from the UK and Ireland were led by British business-services firm Rentokil Initial ( RTO ) , which dropped 2.9%.