Asian stock markets faltered Friday amid worries over the health of Europe's banks and fears that the continent's debt crisis might be spreading beyond a handful of small economies.

Japan's Nikkei 225 Index fell 1 percent to 8,401.32. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index fell 1.4 percent at 18,556.38. South Korea's Kospi fell 1.6 percent to 1,834.70.

Benchmarks in mainland China, Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia also fell.