European stocks closed lower on Friday as rising U.S. bond yields pushed the dollar to a more than 13-and-a-half-year high as investors eyed Federal Reserve member comments and upped bets on a December rate hike.
The pan-European STOXX 600 ended 0.36 percent down, reversing earlier gains. Sectors were mostly lower with Basic Resources deepest in negative territory, down more than 1.9 percent after being hampered by the stronger dollar.
In the U.S., stocks continued lower though the Nasdaq Composite did hit a record high shortly after Friday's open as investors digested Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's strongest hint yet that the central bank was preparing a move in December.
Speaking on Thursday, Yellen told Congress than an increase in interest rates could be "appropriate relatively soon". Any rise in interest rates would also signal that the U.S. economic recovery is gaining momentum.
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