European Markets Mixed After UK Parliament Rejects Syria Action

European markets witnessed mixed trading on Friday morning after the British parliament rejected Britain joining a US-led military strike against Syria.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index opened 0.1% higher to 300.42.

Britain's FTSE 100 opened 0.2% higher.

France's CAC 40 opened 0.1% higher.

Germany's DAX 30 opened 0.1% lower.

Spain's IBEX 35 was down 0.66% in early trade.

Italy's FTSE MIBwas down 0.35% in early trade.

David Cameron's coalition lost the parliamentary vote, defeated by 285 votes to 272. The prime minister said the UK will "act accordingly" following the rejection by parliamentarians of a military strike.

When pressed on whether Britain will approve military action through other ways, Cameron said: "I can give that assurance. I strongly believe in the need for a tough response to the use of chemical weapons, but I also believe in respecting the will of this House of Commons."

He added: "It is very clear tonight that while the House has not passed a motion, it is clear to me that the British parliament, reflecting the views of the British people, does not want to see British military action - I get that and the government will act accordingly."

A stunned US said it would "continue to consult" with the UK as it remains "one of [its] closest allies".

The US and its allies await UN weapons inspectors to report back on their findings from the work being carried out in Syria.

Meanwhile, G20 heads of governments are to meet in St.Petersburg over the 5-6 September and the event could influence the timing of potential air strikes in Syria.

Market participants in Europe will be tracking EU unemployment data for the month of July, alongside preliminary EU inflation data for the month of August.

In company news, French luxury goods retailer Hermes reported a higher-than-expected 14% increase in first-half operating profit.

UK-based book maker Paddy Power, French investment and industrial holding firm Bollore and advertising agency Havas will all put out earnings updates during the day.

In Asia and the US

In Asia, the Japanese Nikkei finished 0.53% lower on Friday. South Korea's Kospi ended 0.99% higher while Australia's S&P/ASX finished 0.84% higher.

Earlier in Asia, markets were choppy as market participants exercised caution amid concerns surrounding the stability of emerging market economies and the prospect of US military intervention in Syria, which reports suggest could be delayed.

On Wall Street, indices ended slightly higher on Thursday after government data revealed that the US economy grew much faster than thought during the second quarter.

The Dow finished 16.44 points higher at 14,840.95. The S&P 500 closed 3.21 points higher at 1,638.17 while the Nasdaq ended 26.95 points higher at 3,620.30.

According to a second estimate of US GDP data by the Department of Commerce's Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), growth in the world's largest economy was 2.5% on an annual basis in the three months to the end of June, up from its initial estimate of 1.7%.

The latest update brings closer the prospect of a much-feared tapering of the Federal Reserve's $85bn a month bond-buying stimulus programme.

Earlier in the week, China warned the US Federal Reserve that it must contemplate the timing and the pace of its planned stimulus taper to prevent any detrimental knock-on effect to emerging market economies.