European equities traded in the US as American depositary receipts were tracking higher late Friday morning, gaining 0.53% to 1,358.93 on the S&P Europe Select ADR Index, and raising the week's return to a shade above 2%.

From continental Europe, the gainers were led by biotech firm Evaxion Biotech (EVAX), which soared 80%, followed by accommodations booking company trivago (TRVG), which rose 11.6%. They were followed by pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk (NVO) and 3D printer company Materialise (MTLS), which were up 8.1% and 5% respectively.

The decliners from continental Europe were led by telecommunications company Ericsson (ERIC) and semiconductor company Sequans Communications (SQNS), which fell 11.7% and 5% respectively. They were followed by biopharmaceutical company Grifols (GRFS) and telecommunications company Nokia (NOK), which were down 3.1% and 3.8% respectively.

From the UK and Ireland, the gainers were led by alcoholic beverage company Diageo (DEO) and biopharmaceutical company Akari Therapeutics (AKTX), which increased 4.9% and 4.2% respectively. They were followed by biopharmaceutical company Amarin (AMRN) and biotech firm Autolus Therapeutics (AUTL), which advanced 3.7% and 1.5% respectively.

The decliners from the UK and Ireland were led by biopharmaceutical companies Mereo BioPharma Group (MREO) and TC Biopharm (TCBP), which dropped 4% and 3.3% respectively. They were followed by oil and gas company Shell (SHEL) and hospitality company InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG), which were down 1.4% and 0.9% respectively.