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European stocks were higher in morning trade on Friday as rising US bond yields pushed the dollar to a more than 13-and-a-half-year high as investors upped bets on a December rate hike.

The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.23 percent.

Speaking on Thursday, Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen told Congress than an increase in interest rates could be "appropriate relatively soon", in comments seen as the strongest hint yet towards a move in December. A rise in interest rates would also signal that the US economic recovery is gaining momentum.

Added to this, investors see Trump's expansionary fiscal policies as stoking inflation.

This has led to a sell-off in bonds and rising yields. The 10-year US Treasury yield hit levels seen last November, while the US dollar also surged. The dollar index – which measures the greenback against a basket of currencies – stood at its highest level since April 2003 on Friday before paring some gains.

Strong dollar hits miners

Basic resource stocks fell sharply on the back of the stronger dollar, which makes dollar-denominated commodities more expensive for buyers paying in other currencies. Precious metal miners Fresnillo and Randgold Resources were both deep in negative territory as the price of gold, which is typically seen as a safe-haven asset, fell due to traders' increase risk appetite.

Elsewhere in the commodities space, the government of Guinea has asked Rio Tinto to explain what it had found in an internal probe that led to the firing of two senior executives linked to payments made to an adviser that helped the miner secure an iron ore project in the country.

VW to cut 30,000 jobs

In other business news, Volkswagen said it planned to cut 30,000 jobs by 2021 at its VW brand to help boost profitability and focus on new areas such as electric and driverless cars following the emissions scandal, according to Reuters. Shares of the German carmaker were higher.

Airbus shares were trading in positive territory after it announced on Friday that Japanese firm Peach Aviation had ordered 10 of its A320neo jets worth $1.1 billion.

LafargeHolcim, the world's biggest cement maker, announced a 1 billion Swiss franc ($991 million) share buyback plan after it cut its mid-term earnings target, sending shares lower.