Tokyo equities markets moved very little on Tuesday after Monday’s declines. Banks were still weak, but the consumer finance and electronics sectors saw gains. The Nikkei 225 added 0.1 percent to 15,734.14, while the Topix index dropped 0.1 percent to 1,532.95.
Bridgestone dropped 1.6 percent to ¥2,405 in reaction to Monday’s announcement by the tire maker that it is putting off its earnings target by another two years and will not reach the goal of 5 percent net profit margins until at least 2010.
Banks were hurt by data showing that core operations were hurt by lending margins that had tightened. Mizuho Financial was 2.2 percent lower to ¥805,000.
On the other hand, consumer finance were higher as some investors and hedge funds have begun to consider them to be bargains. Within the sector, Takefuji added 1.1 percent to ¥4,010.
The shipping sector did will on lower oil prices overnight, with Nippon Yusen gaining 2.1 percent to ¥768. The drop in oil prices did not help oil company Inpex, which dropped 0.7 percent to ¥896,000.
Tech sectors saw gains on the session, with Tokyo Electron adding 0.4 percent to ¥8,600. Among semiconductors, Advantest was 1.4 percent higher to ¥5,950.