European markets opened lower on Friday as investors monitored political turmoil in the US and monetary policy decisions from major economies.

The United States was plunged into fresh political uncertainty late Thursday, after the failure of a Trump-backed spending bill that would have averted a government shutdown.

Dozens of Republican lawmakers voted against a deal to fund the government for three months and suspend the US debt ceiling for two years, meaning a partial government shutdown will begin on Friday night.

Elsewhere, China kept its key interest rate steady on Friday, in line with expectations. The move came in the same month that top Beijing officials vowed to step up policy easing measures.

The latest developments from the People's Bank of China come in the same week as monetary policy updates from the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England.

On Wednesday, the Fed announced a 25 basis point cut to its key interest rate, while the Bank of England kept policy unchanged at its own meeting on Thursday.

Although the Bank of England's decision had been widely anticipated, divisions in the vote and Governor Andrew Bailey's comments about the economic impact of the newly elected Labour government's budget rattled markets, sending the British pound tumbling and yields on 10-year UK government bonds rising.

Russian policymakers are due to update their monetary policy on Friday.

Source: CNBC