With investors seeming to want to hold off on committing their money anywhere before the Bank of Japan makes its decision on interest rates Thursday, the Tokyo equities markets moved very little on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 was unchanged at 17,202.46, while the Topix index was lower, but only by 0.1 percent to 1,703.54.

In the retail sector, department stores were lower on worries that early January sales will turn out to have been less than hoped. Mitsukoshi dropped 0.7 percent to ¥562, while Isetan fell 1.1 percent to ¥2,185. Takashimaya was 2.6 percent lower to ¥1,591 and Daimaru was down 2.7 percent to ¥1,507.

After an industry organization predicted double-digit growth for the 2007-2008 fiscal year, stocks related to the manufacture of computer chips saw gains. Tokyo Electron was 1.2 percent higher to ¥9,300, while Advantest gained 1.8 percent to ¥6,660.

The securities sector was still being helped by consolidation rumors. The sector as a whole added 0.5 percent, with Matsui Securities up 0.9 percent to ¥983 and Nikko Cordial added 2.1 percent to ¥1,337. Nikko Cordial, however, is still significantly lower than it was directly before an accounting scandal was revealed in December.

Equities markets in Tokyo were higher on Monday as investors looked for bargains. The Nikkei 225 was 0.9 percent higher to 16,692.76, while the Topix index gained 1.1 percent to 1,646.05. The Mothers index of small and mid-cap stocks also saw gains, adding 3.6 percent to 1,181.33.

Consumer finance stocks benefited from the search for good buys. Aiful was up 4.2 percent to ¥4,260 on an upgrade from “sell” to “hold” from Deutsche Securities. Jaccs, which was hurt recently by a profits warning, gained 4.5 percent to ¥936.

The retail sector was 1.4 percent higher as a whole. Seven & I added 1 percent to ¥3,920, while Aeon was 1.3 percent higher to ¥2,795 on the news that its in partnership talks with Daiei. Department store chains Daimaru and Mitsukoshi were 2.8 and 2.9 percent higher, to ¥562 and ¥413 respectively.

In the electronics sector, Sony shared in help from a weak yen, adding 2.5 percent to ¥4,880. The consumer electronics and entertainment conglomerate also benefited from an upgrade from “equal weight” to “overweight” from Morgan Stanley. Sony’s gains came even though Toshiba is asking for damages over a recall of Sony batteries used in its products.

Another export-focused company, construction equipment manufacturer Komatsu, added 1.9 percent to ¥2,180.