Stocks fell Friday in Japan as investors worried about the eurozone debt crisis after the European Central Bank dismissed suggestions it could help out by stepping up bond purchases, according to dpa. The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 128.12 points, or 1.48 per cent, to close at 8,536.46 while the broader Topix index was down 6.99 points, or 0.94 per cent, at 738.12. For the week, the Nikkei was down 1.2 per cent, and the Topix dropped 0.8 per cent. Friday's falls came as EU leaders met overnight in Brussels under increasing pressure to alleviate the debt crisis after the central bank's president, Mario Draghi, dimmed speculation Thursday that the bank would purchasing more eurozone government bonds and play a greater role in resolving the crisis. Their meetings were to end later Friday. On currency markets in Tokyo, the euro was quoted at 103.23-28 yen at 4 pm (0700 GMT), down from 104.07-11 yen late Thursday, and at 1.3307-11 dollars, down from 1.3413-14 dollars. The dollar traded virtually unchanged against the yen at 77.58-60 after 77.59-60 yen late Thursday.
