TOKYO, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks edged down on Friday, with the benchmark Nikkei stock index retreating 0.06 percent on ongoing concerns about a lack of cohesion between leaders in the crisis-hit eurozone. Local brokers said that a meeting between German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President Nicolas Sarkozy of France and Prime Minister Mario Monti of Italy at which the three stated they would continue to stand by the euro, failed to impress. They said that investors were hoping to see the European Central Bank's (ECB) role expanded so that it would have the capability to lend to debt-ridden countries in the eurozone. But Merkel continued to tow her line and stated that the ECB should remain independent, despite some analysts believing that this could unravel the very fabric of the eurozone and derail its future as a single-currency hub. "It is difficult to reconcile the interests of individual nations," said Yoshihiro Okumura, general manager at Chibagin Asset Management. "It will likely take a while to get that done. Markets can be destabilized at every major redemption of sovereign bonds," he said. The three leaders pledging to modify European Union treaties, in a bid to further integrate economic policies, had little impact on market sentiment, but buybacks of shares deemed oversold following the markets' recent closing lows, including the 1.80 percent tumble the Nikkei took on Thursday, saw the Nikkei trade in positive territory for the majority of the afternoon. Investors hit the sidelines however in late trade to await the retail results following Black Friday in the United States, one of the biggest shopping days of the year bar the Christmas period. Black Friday is largely regarded as a gauge of consumer sentiment in the run-up to the Christmas shopping period. The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average lost 5.17 points from Thursday to close the week at 8,160.01, while the broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange rose 0.52 point, or 0.07 percent, to finish at 706.60. Nikon Corp. climbed 2.7 percent to 1,739 yen following a report that the company will start substitute production of digital single-lens reflex cameras in Thailand after shuttering its main factory there due to the flooding. Nintendo Co. gained 3.2 percent to 11,200 yen following robust sales of its new 3DS game Super Mario Bros. and hopes that more of its handheld consoles will be sold. Among other export-related issues, Mazda Motor Corp. rose 2.3 percent to 133 yen after the automaker said it had developed a new fuel-saving technology for passenger cars. TDK closed lower however, relinquishing 1.1 percent to 3,585 yen and Sharp dropped 3.9 percent to finish the week at 741 yen. Scandal-hit Olympus Corp. climbed 8.6 percent to 1,107 yen as ousted CEO Michael Woodford met with board members and said he did not wish for the firm's stock to be delisted from the TSE. Trading volume on Friday rose to 1.50 billion shares on the Tokyo Exchange's First Section, down from Thursday's volume of 1. 49 billion shares, with declining issues outnumbering advancing ones by 922 to 564.

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