Global stocks rattled by Benazir murder, weak data

Asian stock markets fell in early deals Friday following heavy losses on Wall Street as the murder of Pakistani opposition leader Benazir Bhutto sparked jitters about global security, dealers said. Bhutto's assassination, together with weak US economic data, sent nervous investors fleeing to safe haven investments, dealers said. Her death Thursday in Pakistan raised geopolitical concerns about stability in the nuclear-armed country, they added. Gold and oil prices rose in Asian trade with crude futures climbing back towards the 100 dollars-per-barrel mark. "Benazir's death could raise the geopolitical tension which would sustain the rise in oil prices," said Prayoga Triyono, a fund manager at Henan Putirai Asset Management in Jakarta