Nikkei rises to fresh 15-year high on ECB; gains for 4th week
March 06, 2015 at 01:21 AM EST
TOKYO, March 6 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose to a fresh 15-year high on Friday as encouraging comments from the European Central Bank lifted sentiment, but FamilyMart Co fell on news that it was in merger talks with UNY Group Holdings Co. The Nikkei ended 1.2 percent higher at 18,971.00 points, its best closing level since April 2000. For the week, it rose 0.9 percent and posted a fourth consecutive week of gains. The broader Topix rose 1.1 percent to 1,540.84 and the JP