BTI British American Tobacco PLC

Stocks were little changed Friday as the dollar rose to multimonth highs against the euro and Asian currencies.

The Stoxx Europe 600 inched up 0.2% shortly after markets opened, led by shares of personal and household goods. British American Tobacco PLC rose over 2% after the cigarette giant said it made an unsolicited takeover offer for the remaining stake in U.S. peer Reynolds American Inc.

Traders were also digesting comments Thursday from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who left the door open to extending the bank's expansive bond buying program at future meetings and denied reports that its stimulus program could end abruptly.

The euro was down 0.3% against the dollar at $1.0898, around its lowest in seven months. The dollar remained supported by growing expectations for the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates in December.

The Chinese yuan also touched a six-year low against the dollar in trading in mainland China, and a record low in trading outside of China at 6.7663.

Earlier, stocks in Asia mostly edged lower, catching up with a recent slide in oil prices and a small decline on Wall Street. Shares in Japan fell 0.3% while Australian stocks shed 0.2%. The Hong Kong stock market was closed as the city shut down for a typhoon.

Brent crude oil was steady during European morning hours and last traded up 0.1% at $51.43 a barrel.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

October 21, 2016 04:25 ET (08:25 GMT)

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