Oil prices rose in Asia on Friday after a Malaysia Airlines plane came down in war-ravaged Ukraine and Israel launched a ground offensive into Gaza, sparking fears about tensions in the crude-rich Middle East.

US benchmark West Texas Intermediate for delivery in August was up 53 cents at $103.72 in late-morning trade and Brent crude for September advanced 65 cents to $108.54.

The dollar edged up in Asian trade Friday after tumbling in New York on news that a Malaysia Airlines jet had crashed in Ukraine killing almost 300 people, with the U.S. saying it had been shot down.

The Malaysian ringgit slipped against the greenback in response to the tragedy, the second to hit the troubled carrier since the disappearance of flight MH370 in March.

Asian markets were mostly lower on Friday after a Malaysia Airlines jet came down in battle-wracked Ukraine, sparking geopolitical tensions and sending Wall Street tumbling as the U.S. claimed the aircraft had been shot down.

Airline stocks retreated, led by a slump in already under-pressure Malaysia Airlines as the company faced up to its second major disaster in four months following Thursday's tragedy that killed almost 300 people. 

Europe's stock markets fell on Thursday after the United States and European Union announced that they would apply further sanctions against Russia over the crisis in Ukraine.

The news sent markets sliding as many investors sought to minimise risky investments amid heightened Ukraine concerns, dealers said.

China has already chosen a site for the future Shanghai headquarters of the BRICS development bank, state media said Thursday just two days after its creation.

At a summit in Brazil, the BRICS group of emerging economic powers -- which also includes Russia, India, China and South Africa -- on Tuesday created the New Development Bank to finance infrastructure projects.

Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott called Thursday for G20 economies to adopt more ambitious growth targets, urging leaders not to "waste each other's time" with a talk-fest.

Abbott told more than 380 business leaders from the grouping attending a two-day B20 summit in Sydney that the world's economies were still "in the shadow of the (financial) crisis" and "action, not words" was needed to boost growth.

Oil prices extended gains in Asia Thursday after a bullish U.S. stockpiles report raised hopes of resurgent demand in the world's top crude consumer, analysts said. 

U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for August delivery rose 24 cents to $101.44 while Brent crude for September gained two cents to $107.19 in afternoon trade. 

A key shareholder in stricken Portuguese bank Banco Espirito Santo (BES) has failed to repay a huge debt, putting the banking group at risk of legal action, the unpaid creditor Portugal Telecom said on Wednesday.

Holding company Rioforte, a main shareholder in BES, failed to repay 847 million euros ($1.15 billion) by a deadline on Tuesday, PT said.

Britain's unemployment rate fell to 6.5 percent in the quarter to the end of May, hitting the lowest level for more than five years, official data showed on Wednesday.

The rate for the March-May period compares with 6.6 percent for the three months to the end of April, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

Business leaders from the G20 major economies called Wednesday for free flows of trade, capital and jobs to boost growth, but avoided addressing the controversial global issues of profit-shifting and climate change.

More than 380 international business chiefs are set to attend the B20 summit in Sydney on Thursday and Friday before presenting their growth strategies to the G20 presidency, which is chaired by Australia this year.