Tokyo - Japan's key Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell below the 11,000-point-mark Friday hitting the lowest since May 2005 following overnight plunges on the Wall Street.

The benchmark Nikkei index ended the morning trading at 10,996.98, down 157.78 points, or 1.41 per cent.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues also fell 25.09 points, or 2.33 per cent, to 1,051.88.

For the 13th consecutive business day, Japan's central bank injected 800 billion yen (7.58 billion dollars) into the money markets to ease disruptions in financial markets.

The total amount of liquidity infused by the Bank of Japan came to 24.3 trillion yen since US investment bank Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc filed for bankruptcy on September 15.

On currency markets at 9 am (0000 GMT), the dollar was quoted at 104.97-105.02 yen, down from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 105.32-34 yen.

The euro was quoted at 1.3785-90 dollars, down from Thursday's 5 pm quote of 1.3880-82 dollars, and at 144.73-78 yen, down from 146.19-23 yen. (dpa)