In Tokyo on Friday, new broker recommendations on carmakers sent the sector up, helping the markets on the day despite drops in commodities-dependent companies. The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index each added 0.5 percent on the day, to 17,403.96 and 1,756.40 respectively.

Companies that make cellphone components also saw gains on the day after postiive earnings reports from Texas Instruments in the United States and from Nokia in Finland. Kyocera added 3.3 percent to ¥11,500 and Ibiden gained 0.7 percent to ¥5,570.

JP Morgan began coverage of the Japanese automobile manufacturing sector by giving both Toyota and Honda ratings of “overweight”. These recommendations sent shares in Toyota up 2.7 percent to ¥6,900 while Honda gained 4.6 percent to ¥8,120.

Miners were down after Thursday’s drop in commodities prices. Gold producer Sumitomo Metal Mining declined by 3.1 percent to ¥1,698, while Dowa Mining, which has interests in both copper and zinc, dropped 3.4 percent to ¥1,394. Toho Zinc was down 1.8 percent to ¥1,171. Mitsui Mining & Metal, which deals with nonferrous metals, lost 1.6 percent to ¥806.

Tokyo Steel Manufacturing lost 1 percent to ¥2,420 on a report that its net profits were down by 33 percent tin the 2005/2006 fiscal year. It forecast further declines in 2006/2007.

Equities markets in Tokyo were down significantly on Wednesday as both export-focused and domestic sectors saw declines on the day. The Nikkei 225 was down 1.5 percent to 15,964.46, while the Topix index also dropped 1.5 percent, to 1,635.60.

Among companies that depend on exports, Sony declined by 1.6 percent to ¥5,440 and high-tech manufacturer Ibiden fell 4.9 percent to ¥5,250. Carmaker Toyota was 1.6 percent lower, trading at ¥6,150.

Domestically, retailers were down 1.8 percent as a whole. Holding company Seven & I, which operates convenience stores and department stores, was down 2.1 percent to ¥4,680 when it cut 2006 profit forecasts by 25 percent.

The securities sector dropped 2.1 percent, with Nomura falling 1.8 percent to ¥2,205. Nikko Cordial was down 2.5 percent to ¥1,816.

Shares related to internet companies were down after Google’s announcement that its growth was beginning to slow down. Yahoo Japan declined by 2.9 percent to ¥134,000, while Softbank dropped 4.9 percent to ¥3,460.