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 US 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. MH17 was carrying 298 people from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur when it crashed in eastern Ukraine. Ukraine's government described the incident as a "terrorist act", while comments attributed to a pro-Russia rebel chief suggested his men may have downed it by mistake, believing it was a Ukrainian army transport plane.



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