11:15 AM EDT, 03/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- European equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts were trending higher Friday morning, advancing marginally to 1,368.34 on the S&P Europe Select ADR Index.

From continental Europe, the gainers were led by 3D printer company voxeljet (VJET) and telecommunications company VEON (VEON), which climbed 6.7% and 5.9% respectively. They were followed by financial services company Banco Santander (SAN) and consumer goods giant Unilever ( UL ) , which increased 2.4% and 1.5% respectively.

The decliners from continental Europe were led by pharmaceutical company Grifols ( GRFS ) and biotech firm Biophytis ( BPTS ) , which fell 11% and 2.8% respectively. They were followed by biopharmaceutical company DBV Technologies ( DBVT ) and semiconductor company Sequans Communications ( SQNS ) , which were down 2% and 1.8% respectively.

From the UK and Ireland, the gainers were led by biopharmaceutical companies Adaptimmune Therapeutics ( ADAP ) and NuCana ( NCNA ) , which rose 5.9% and 3.5% respectively. They were followed by communications company WPP ( WPP ) and insurance company Prudential (PUK), which were up 2% and 1.6% respectively.

The decliners from the UK and Ireland were led by biopharmaceutical company TC Biopharm ( TCBP ) and software firm Endava ( DAVA ) , which dropped 8% and 2.5% respectively. They were followed by biopharmaceutical company Mereo BioPharma Group ( MREO ) , which was down 0.8%.