* Dollar at highest since March vs currency basket
* U.S. stocks down after long weekend; Asia dips, Europe up
* Oil rises ahead of ECB meeting, OPEC on Friday
* ECB stimulus expectations lift European stocks (Updates to U.S. open, changes byline, dateline; previous LONDON)
By Sinead Carew
NEW YORK, Nov 30 (Reuters) - The dollar hit an eight-and-a-half-month high against key world currencies Monday as the prospect of further European Central Bank stimulus dragged the euro down to its weakest since mid-April.
Global stock markets were mixed, with Wall Street dropping after a long weekend and ahead of a crucial jobs report Friday, while European shares rose. Still, the three major U.S. indexes were set to end the month higher for a second straight month.
"We're coming off a quiet holiday week and we have a lot of hurdles to cross this week with all the data that we're expecting," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.
At 10:30 a.m. EST (1530 GMT), the Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 19.61 points, or 0.11 percent, to 17,778.88, the S&P 500 .SPX lost 3.05 points, or 0.15 percent, to 2,087.06 and the Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 5.09 points, or 0.1 percent, to 5,122.44.
The week is likely to highlight the divergent outlooks for interest rates in the United States and the euro zone which may set the tone for markets early next year.
European shares were lifted by the prospect of the ECB unveiling an extension of its bond-buying program at a Thursday meeting. .EU The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 was up 0.2 percent and was set for a 2 percent monthly gain.
In contrast, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to raise interest rates in December for the first time in nearly a decade.
The dollar index .DXY , which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, touched its highest since mid-March and was on track for a 3 percent monthly gain.
The euro EUR= , which dropped to its lowest since mid-April, fell 0.2 percent against the dollar to $1.0572 and was on track for its biggest monthly drop since March. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N13P2IR
"We are probably with the consensus, the Fed is going to tighten, the ECB is going to ease, so the euro will go lower to about 1.05 and then that will be your lot (for the year)," said Sanjiv Shah, chief investment officer with Sun Global in London.
The MSCI index of world stocks .MIWD00000PUS was off 0.24 percent by late morning and was on track for a 0.8 percent decline for November.
Earlier, shares fell in Asia. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS fell 0.8 percent and was on course to drop 2.8 percent for the month, after making its first gains in six months in October.
The Shanghai Composite .SSEC ended up 0.3 percent Monday after Chinese stocks fell more than 5 percent on Friday.
Brent crude LCOc1 , the global benchmark for oil prices, rose 1 percent, or 46 cents, to $45.32 per barrel. It remained on track for a 10 percent fall this month. U.S. crude CLc1 futures were up 1.3 percent, or 53 cents, at $42.24 O/R
Gold XAU= , which is on track for its worst month since June 2013, last traded up 0.3 percent at $1,061.87 an ounce.
Benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasuries notes US10YT=RR were up 3/32 in price to yield 2.214 percent.