In Tokyo on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 was up 1.4 percent to 13,617.24, its highest close since May 2001. The Topix index rose even more, gaining 1.9 percent to 1,428.13 on the day.

The gains came on figures showing retail sales in Japan up 1.5 percent from August of last year, a confirmation that domestic demand has grown. Also helping stocks gain ground was anticipation of positive news with Friday’s release of industrial production and consumer price inflation data.

The banking sector was up after Wednesday’s comments that the Bank of Japan could soon be abandoning its ultra-easy monetary policy, which could lead to higher lending rates. SMFG was up 0.9 percent to ¥1,070,000, while MTFG gained 5.1 percent to ¥1,450,000 and Mizuho rose by 5.3 percent to ¥742,000.

The steel sector was also up again. Sumitomo Metal Industries gained 8.8 percent to ¥435, while Nippon Steel was up 6.9 percent to ¥452. In the retail sector, department store Takashimaya rose 3.3 percent to ¥1,406 on a raised earnings forecast in the six months ending in August.

Wholesale broadband provider eAccess was up 8.4 percent to ¥86,000 on the announcement that it might invest in a mobile phone service. Consumer electronics company Sanyo dropped 4.3 percent to ¥288 after its restructuring announcement on Wednesday.

Tokyo equities markets hit new 4-year highs on Wednesday as the Nikkei 225 gained 1 percent to 13,435.91 and the Topix index rose an even larger 1.8 percent to 1,401.47.

Investors were in a buying mood as they look forward to the release on Monday of the Bank of Japan’s Tankan survey of business sentiment, which is expected to show an increase of confidence among manufacturers. Blue chip stocks and exporters saw gains on the day.

Printer and copy machine maker Canon and NTT DoCoMo, Japan’s top mobile phone operator, each gained 1 percent to ¥5,970 and ¥206,000.

Automobile manufacturer Toyota was up 3.2 percent to ¥5,120, while in the banking sector, MTFG rose 9.5 percent to ¥1,380,000.

Elsewhere Hanshin Electric Railway ended the day 10.6 percent higher at ¥1,045 on confirmation that MAC Asset Management had bought a 27 percent stake in the railroad.

On the losing side, Sony fell 2.1 percent to ¥3,790 when Intel and Microsoft said they preferred a DVD standard by Toshiba rather than behind Sony’s competing standard.

Consumer electronics company Sanyo Electric was down as well, by 2 percent to ¥301 as it announced a timetable for job cuts was well as that it would leave the DVD player and recorder and VCR business.

The Tokyo equities markets were down on Tuesday on profit-taking after four-year highs reached on Monday. The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.6 percent to 13,310.04, while the Topix fell 0.7 percent to 1,376.70.

The steel and banking sectors were up on the day, however, and so was Sony. The consumer electronics group gained 1.3 percent on the day to ¥3,870 after having lost over 3 percent Monday on investor disappointment over the company’s restructuring plan.

In the banking sector, MTFG was up 1.6 percent to ¥1,260,000. Among steel companies, Nippon Steel rose 1.8 percent to ¥392 and Sumitomo Metal Industries added 2.8 percent to ¥369.

In the retail sector, Ryohin Keikaku, which operates the “Muji” stores, was up 4.9 percent to ¥7,240 on a report of first-half net profits that were up by 47 percent and on an upward revision of annual profit and dividend predictions.

Among the losers, fixed-line phone operator NTT fell 2.5 percent to ¥556,000 after gaining over 7 percent on Monday. The decline came on reports of a planned restructuring, but those reports were denied by NTT.

Meanwhile, Hitachi Construction Machinery was down 5.6 percent to ¥2,030 after a 9 percent gain on Monday that was spurred by the belief that the hydraulic shovel maker could benefit from hurricane cleanup and rebuilding in the US.

Tokyo equities markets were up on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 gaining 0.4 percent to reach another four-year high of 13,196.57.

The Topix index also closed 0.4 percent higher at 1,357.71. On the down side, shares in department stores fell when Deutsche Bank downgraded several companies from “buy” to “hold”.

Among those seeing losses on the day were Isetan, which fell 0.6 percent to ¥1,753; Marui, which dropped 0.9 percent to ¥1,867; and Takashimaya, which lost 2.3 percent to ¥1,334. Sony was off another 0.5 percent to ¥4,030 ahead of Thursday’s announcement on how it will attempt to turn its fortunes around.

The financial sector, on the other hand, saw gains on the day. Mizuho gained 0.2 percent to ¥673,000, MTFG was up 1.6 percent to ¥1,240,000, and SMFG rose by 2 percent to ¥1,030,000.

The real estate sector was also up, with Mitsui Fudosan gaining 1.5 percent to ¥1,660 and Sumitomo Real Estate Sales rising by 6.7 percent to ¥5,880. Gains in real estate came on an announcement Tuesday by the land ministry that prices on both commercial and residential properties in Tokyo had gone up for the first time in 15 years.