11:10 AM EDT, 06/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- European equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts were sharply higher late Wednesday morning, rising 1.28% to 1,926.15 on the S&P Europe Select ADR Index.

From continental Europe, the gainers were led by lenders Banco Santander (SAN) and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria ( BBVA ) , which advanced 2.5% and 2.3% respectively. They were followed by biopharmaceutical firm argenx (ARGX) and biotech firm BioNTech (BNTX), which rose 2.1% and 2% respectively.

The decliners from continental Europe were led by pharmaceutical company Sanofi ( SNY ) and telecommunications company Nokia ( NOK ) , which dropped 2% and 1.4% respectively. They were followed by software firm SAP (SAP) and telecommunications company Ericsson (ERIC), which were off 1% and 0.8% respectively.

The gainers from the UK were led by Mereo BioPharma Group ( MREO ) and lender Barclays ( BCS ) , which rose 9% and 3.6% respectively. They were followed by Akari Therapeutics ( AKTX ) and Bicycle Therapeutics ( BCYC ) , which advanced 3.3% and 2.7% respectively.

The decliners from the UK and Ireland were led by British American Tobacco (BTI) and telecommunications operator Vodafone Group ( VOD ) , which fell 8% and 1.3% respectively. They were followed by oil and gas companies BP (BP) and Shell (SHEL), which were down 1.1% and 1% respectively.