With foreign buyers selling more than they bought for the fourth consecutive session, Tokyo equities markets declined on Tuesday even though news from the corporate world tended toward the positive. The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.4 percent to 15,859.45, while the Topix index was down 0.2 percent to 1,612.76.

The real estate sector was down on continuing worries that values are too high. Tokyo Tatemono declined by 2.7 percent to ¥1,162. Mitsubishi Estate dropped 1.5 percent to ¥2,245. Mitsui Fudosan and Tokyu Land, meanwhile, each lost 1 percent, to ¥2,360 and ¥857 respectively.

Retailers also lost ground on the day, declining by 1.3 percent as a whole. Among department stores, Takashimaya was down 1.3 percent to ¥1,521, Matsuzakaya dropped 1.8 percent to ¥856, and Matsuya lost 5.8 percent to ¥1,950. Seven & I, which holds convenience stores and restaurants along with departments stores, was down 1.5 percent to ¥4,010, while convenience store operator Lawson fell 1 percent to ¥4,110.

The electronics sector was mixed, with NEC up 1.2 percent to ¥696 after it said it would talk with Matsushita Electric about joining up to manufacture cell phones. Matsushita, however, dropped 0.2 percent to ¥2,490.

Most Asian equities markets saw gains on Monday, with Tokyo again being the exception as the Topix index was slightly higher but the Nikkei was down by 55.08 points on the day. While the Topix added 0.2 percent, a mere 2.39 points, to 1,616.17 on steel and banking advances, the Nikkei 225 dropped 0.3 percent to 15,915.68.

The banking sector added 1.2 percent as a whole, with Mitsubishi UFJ and Resona each up by 2.7 percent, to ¥1,540,000 and ¥348,000 respectively. Despite forecasts for this year that were disappointing for some banks, most annual reports for the year just ended were good.

Steel companies were up on reports that European steel maker Arcelor will purchase Russian company Severstal. Nippon Steel gained 0.7 percent to ¥471, Tokyo Steel Manufacturing was up 1 percent to ¥2,460, and JFE added 1.7 percent to ¥4,860.

Toyota was up 0.5 percent to ¥6,140 after Daiwa Institute of Research raised its target share price on the carmaker.

Declines came in the retail sector after new data showed that year-on-year sales were down in April. Seven & I dropped 1 percent to ¥4,070, while Isetan was down 1.4 percent to 2,085 and Matsuzakaya declined 2 percent to ¥872.

The Tokyo equities markets saw gains on Friday as both domestic and export-focused sectors were up on the day. The markets had seen substantial declines earlier in the week. The Nikkei 225 added 1.8 percent Friday to 15,970.76, while the Topix index was also 1.8 percent higher to 1,613.78.

Banks were up 2.5 percent as a sector. Mitsubishi UFJ added 1.4 percent to ¥1,500,000, while Mizuho was up 2.5 percent to ¥917,000 and SMFG gained 2.7 percent to ¥1,160,000.

Toymaker Tomy added 9.5 percent to ¥845 on a prediciton that it would make a profit this year. Meanwhile, game maker Nintendo was up 8.8 percent to ¥18,980 as Merrill Lynch reiterated its “buy” rating. Shares in Nintendo had fallen substantially on Thursday after news was released of a drop in its operating profit.

Carmaker Toyota gained 1.5 percent on the day to ¥6,100. In another heavily export-focused sector, electronics company Hitachi added 2.2 percent to ¥776.

Among miners, Sumitomo Metal Mining was up 4.8 percent to ¥1,527, while Dowa Mining added 2.9 percent to ¥1,083 as commodities prices rose again.

The Tokyo equities markets were down on the day Thursday, with the Nikkei 225 losing 1.3 percent to 15,693.75 and the Topix index dropping 1.3 percent as well, to close at 1,584.71. Declines came for both domestic and export-focused stocks.

The electronics sector was down 1.4 percent as a whole. Toshiba lost 4.5 percent to ¥713, while Sony declined by 1.4 percent to ¥5,090. Automobile manufacturer Toyota, also focused on exports, lost 1.8 percent to ¥6,010.

Among more domestically focused sectors, securities were down 3.6 percent as a whole. Nomura dropped 3.7 percent to ¥2,200, while Daiwa Securities and Nikko Cordial each lost 4 percent to ¥1,377 and ¥1,566 respectively.

The real estate sector dropped 1.5 percent as a whole. Mitsui Fudosan lost 1.9 percent to ¥2,340 and Mitsubishi Estate ended the day down 3.9 percent to ¥2,230.

The Tokyo equities markets dropped significantly Tuesday on declines in a number of sectors. The Nikkei 225 dropped 1.6 percent to 15,599.20, while the Topix index declined by 2.3 percent to 1,579.26, as both closed at their lowest levels in three months.

Banks dropped 4.3 percent as a sector. Mitsubishi UFJ was down 6.1 percent to ¥1,530,000 after it said that earnings in the 2006/2007 fiscal year would be down substantially from record profits in 2005/2006. Mizuho declined by 4.8 percent to ¥895,000 on comments from UBS that its operating profits target for the 2006/2007 fiscal year could be overly ambitious.

The securities sector was down by 2.7 percent on the day, with Nomura dropping 2.9 percent to ¥2,200 and Nikko Cordial losing 2.6 percent to ¥1,599.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed at its lowest level in two months, dropping 1.8 percent to 15,857.87. The Topix index lost 1.4 percent to 1,615.86. Miners were down there, as well, with Nippon Mining losing 8 percent to ¥948 and Sumitomo Metal Mining down by 3.9 percent to ¥1,471.

Among Japanese semiconductor companies, Elpida Memory lost 5.2 percent to ¥4,890 on a restatement of last year’s earnings that showed an even wider net loss than had been previously reported. In the electronics sector, Sony added 0.8 percent to ¥5,120 on the announcement that mobile carrier KDDI has plans to launch a line of Walkman-type mobiles manufactured by Sony Ericsson. The news sent shares in KDDI up 1.4 percent to ¥737,000.

Seafood processing groups saw the biggest gains for the day in Tokyo, with Nippon Suisan adding 10.2 percent to ¥584 and Maruha gaining 3.3 percent to ¥282. The sector has been benefiting from foreign demand for their products.

The news that the Japanese economy grew more than had been expected in the first quarter of the year sent Tokyo equities markets higher on Friday. The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index each added 0.4 percent on the day to close at 16,155.45 and 1,638.57 respectively.

The retail sector added 1.6 percent as a whole, with Seven and I gaining 1.2 percent to ¥4,120. Another sector strongly affectd by domestic issues, securities, also gained on the day. The sector as a whole added 2 percent, as Nomura was up by 1.3 percent to ¥2,335 and Daiwa Securities gained 3.3 percent to ¥1,423.

Shipping companies saw gains on upgrades from UBS. Mitsui OSK was up 3.3 percent to ¥806, Kawasaki Kisen gained 4.4 percent to ¥717, and Nippon Yusen added 4.7 percent to ¥730.

Among losers on the day was the construction sector, done in by disappointing earnings forecasts. Shimizu dropped 2.8 percent to ¥697, while Kajima was down 2.1 percent to ¥592 and Taisei declined by 1.3 percent to ¥460.

In the electronics sector, meanwhile, Sanyo Electric dropped 2.2 percent to ¥271 on extensive restructuring costs that led to a significant loss in the 2005-2006 fiscal year.

In Tokyo on Wednesday the equities markets were up for the first time in over a week, with the Nikkei 225 up 0.9 percent to 16,307.67 and the Topix index gaining 0.7 percent to 1,657.07. Commodities stocks that were higher after recent declines were key to the day’s gains, even as sectors focused on domestic demand were generally down on the day.

The securities sector was down by 0.4 percent as a whole. Daiwa Securities, for example, was 2 percent lower to ¥1,463.

Retailers as a sector were also 0.4 percent lower, although stocks within the sector were mixed. Department store chain Matsuzakaya dropped by 1.5 percent to ¥933. On the other hand, convenience store chain Circle K Sunkus added 3.3 percent on the day to ¥2,690.

Steel and non-ferrous metals sectors were each 3 percent higher on the day, helped out by higher commodities prices. Mitsui Mining & Smelting and Sumitomo Metal Mining each added 4.7 percent, to ¥817 and ¥1,602 respectively. Nippon Steel, meanwhile, gained 4.4 percent to ¥428.

In the consumer finance sector, Aiful dropped 10.4 percent to ¥6,110 after it said that its annual profits were down last year and that they would probably fall further this year after it was forced by government regulators to shut down for a period earlier in the month.

Tokyo equities markets were down on Monday as export-dependent sectors continued to be hurt by the yen’s strength in relation to the US dollar. The Nikkei 225 declined by 0.7 percent to 16,486.91, while the Topix index lost 0.4 percent to 1,681.81. Also contributing to the day’s declines were sharp drops on Wall Street last Friday.

The automobile manufacturing sector was down on the day. Toyota’s shares fell for the sixth trading day in a row, dropping 1.9 percent to ¥6,250. Banc of America Securities cut its rating on Toyota’s US-listed shares from “buy” to “neutral” on Friday and criticized the carmaker’s ability to expand as much as it needs to. Elsewhere in the sector, Nissan declined by 1.7 percent to ¥1,428, while Honda was down 1.2 percent to ¥7,760.

Camera-maker Canon, also dependent on exports, was down 3.5 percent on the day to ¥8,370. Meanwhile, in the electronics sector, Toshiba dropped 1.7 percent to ¥735.

Softbank was the most actively traded stock on the day, helped by reports that it is joining with Apple Computer to develop a mobile phone with a built-in iPod player. Shares in Softbank were up 2.6 percent to ¥3,000.

In Tokyo on Friday, the Nikkei 225 was down 1.5 percent to 16,601.78, for its fourth losing day in a row. Meanwhile, the Topix index dropped 1.4 percent to 1,688.18. Many of the declines came in sectors that depend on exports as the US dollar continued its decline in the relation to the yen, which was at ¥109.95 versus the greenback at one point in Asian trade during the day.

Among electronics companies, NEC lost 4.9 percent to ¥741 after it revealed that its net profits were down 84 percent in the period January to March due to problems in its semiconductor and mobile phone units. Consumer electronics giant Sony was down 2.2 percent to ¥5,330.

Automobile manufacturers were also down on the day. Toyota saw losses for the fifth day in a row, losing 2.6 percent on Friday to ¥6,370 even though it announced earlier in the week that full-year net profits were at record highs. Elsewhere in the sector, Honda dropped 1.6 percent to ¥7,850, while Nissan declined by 1.8 percent to ¥1,452.

Bucking the losing trend, camera manufacturer Canon added 2 percent to ¥8,670 on Friday after Thursday’s announcement that it will do a three-for-two stock split and that its dividend will rise to ¥110.