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Asia stocks slid on geopolitical tensions on Friday, while gold and oil prices rose. MOREINFO: Japan's stock market ended the trading year on a sour note with markets shut for a holiday on Monday. SCRIPT: News of the assassination of Pakistan's Benazir Bhutto hurt Asia stocks on Friday. Investors said Bhutto's killing at a political rally could spark instability in the region and have an impact on trade volumes coming into Asia. Gold rose to one-month highs as a safe haven play. Oil prices rose to 97-dollars a barrel within sight of its record high on geopolitical tensions. Japan stocks ended the year on a sour note in a shortened trading session and with the bourse closed for a holiday on Monday. The Nikkei fell 1.7 percent (15,308) with exporters among the worst performers. The Nikkei fell 11- percent this year, putting it on course to be the worst performing major stock market in the world. Investors were put off by a strong yen currency and low interest rates. Puru Saxena runs his own wealth management firm specialising in the region: SOUNDBITE: (ENGLISH) PURU SAXENA, CHIEF EXECUTIVE, PURU SAXENA LTD. SAYING: "Because of the one-half interest rate policy of the BOJ even the Japanese investors are sending their cash overseas and until such time when they take their own money back and invest in their own country I think foreigners can make more money elsewhere. The world's number 2 economy may have a long list of strong export-oriented companies but Japan has seen weak economic growth in 2007 especially compared to other Asia economies such as fast-developing China. China stocks were also weaker early on Friday. But Shanghai's stock index looks set to post gains of around 80 percent in 2007. Tara Joseph-Hui reporting for Reuters.