Major equities markets in Tokyo were lower on Wednesday.

The Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 percent to 17,858.42, while the Topix index dropped 0.68 percent to 1,754.03.

On the other hand, the Mothers market of small and mid-caps added 0.66 percent to close at 857.81.

The retail sector was mixed.

In mergers rumors, department stores Mitsukoshi (TYO: 2779) and Isetan (TYO: 8238) were said to be talking about making a capital alliance and could look to merge later on.

Mitsukoshi added 7.51 percent to ¥587 and Isetan closed even at ¥1,901, while elsewhere in the retail sector, Seven & I (TYO: 3382) fell 0.29 percent to ¥3,490.

Exporters were hurt by a stronger yen.

In the automobile manufacturing sector Toyota Motor (TYO: 7203.T; NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT) was 1.33 percent lower to ¥7,410, while Honda Motor (TYO: 7267; NYSE: HMC) dropped 1.78 percent to ¥4,420.

In the electronics sector Sony (TYO: 6758; NYSE: SNE) was down 0.32 percent to ¥6,280 and Matushita Electric Industrial (TYO: 6572; NYSE: MC) fell 3.59 percent to ¥2,285.

In the oil sector, Nippon Oil (TYO: 5001) dropped 3.86 percent to ¥1,121 as the price of crude oil continued to decline.

In Tokyo on Wednesday the Nikkei 225 was 1.1 percent lower to 18,015.58, while the Topix index also dropped 1.1 percent, to 1,758.65.

The declines came from both domestically-focused and export-focused sectors.

On the domestic side, the retail sector was down 1.9 percent as a whole, with several retailers doing even worse than that.

Aeon (TYO: 8267) dropped 2.1 percent to ¥2,055, while department store chain Isetan (TYO: 8238; SGX: I15) fell 2.2 percent to ¥1,922.

The worst performer on the Nikkei was Fast Retailing (TYO: 9983), which was down 4.4 percent to ¥7,280.

In the utilities sector, Tokyo Electric Power (TYO: 9501) was 4 percent lower to ¥3,600 on reports that a survey of earthquake damage in its Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant had found 50 separate problems.

After US semiconductors manufacturer Intel (NAS: INTC; SEHK: 4335) reported margins at the low end of predictions in the second quarter, chipmaker Tokyo Electron (TYO: 8035) dropped 1 percent to ¥8,930.

The electronics sector was mixed on broker recommendations.

While Nikon (TYO: 7731) added 0.5 percent to ¥3,730 on a Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) upgrade from “overweight” to “equal-weight”, Pioneer was 3.3 percent lower to ¥1,645 after Credit Suisse (NYSE: CS; SWX: CSGN) cut its rating from “neutral” to “underperform”.

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.

The Tokyo equities markets were lower on Friday as trade volumes were low ahead of another holiday weekend. The Nikkei 225 dropped 1.51 percent to 17,091.51, while the Topix index was 1.4 percent lower to 1,675.33.

The automobile manufacturing sector saw losses as investors took profits after recent gains. Toyota was down 2.4 percent to ¥7,900, while Honda fell almost 3 percent to ¥4,600.

Other export-dependent sectors also saw declines. Canon was 2 percent lower to ¥6,530. Meanwhile, industrial robot manufacturer Fanuc fell 2.8 percent to ¥11,430. Bucking the trend was Toshiba, which was 1.64 percent higher to ¥808 on reports that it will develop a new boiling water reactor for nuclear power plants, to be marketed both domestically and in foreign markets by 2015.

Declines in crude oil prices hurt oil companies. Inpex dropped 2.5 percent to ¥919,000, while Japan Petroleum fell almost 5 percent to ¥6,610.

The steel sector was down as well, as were companies dealing in non-ferrous metals. Among steel makers, JFE was 5.7 percent lower to ¥5,750 and Nippon Steel was down 6 percent to ¥622. In the non-ferrous metals sector, Mitsubishi Materials fell 1.4 percent to ¥430, while Sumitomo Metal Mining was 2.5 percent lower to ¥1,456 and Toho Zinc dropped 7.4 percent to ¥1,021.

Gainers on the day included department store Isetan, which added 2 percent to ¥2,230 on record sales. Oji Paper was helped by the decline in crude oil prices, gaining almost 4 percent to ¥675.

The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index both saw gains on Wednesday as export-focused stocks were up, but gains were limited by declines in utilities and in the consumer finance sector. The Nikkei added 0.3 percent to 16,692.93, while the Topix gained 0.2 percent to 1,639.19. Meanwhile, the Mothers index of small and mid-cap stocks dropped 1.1 percent to 1,125.85.

In the retail sector, department stores saw gains but weren’t able to lift the sector as a whole. Takashimaya was 1.1 percent higher to ¥1,717, while Isetan ended 1.6 percent higher to ¥2,150. On the other hand, Seven & I dropped 0.6 percent to ¥3,630.

Exporters that saw gains included Canon, which added 1.1 percent to ¥6,540. In the electronics sector, Sony was 1.9 percent higher to ¥4,880. Sharp, however, dropped 1.5 percent to ¥2,040 on the news that it is being investigated for price fixing of liquid crystal displays.

Utilities were down on profit-taking. Tokyo Electric Power fell 0.5 percent to ¥3,720, while Kansai Electric Power and Tohoku Electric Power each dropped 0.7 percent to ¥3,050 and ¥2,895 respectively.

The consumer finance sector declined after parliament passed a bill that will cut the maximum amount of interest the lenders can charger their customers. Takefuji was 1.1 percent lower to ¥4,470, while Aiful fell 1.6 percent to ¥3,610 and Credit Saison dropped 1.9 percent to ¥4,100.

The Tokyo equities markets saw substantial gains on Wednesday, with gains in most sectors. The Nikkei 225 added 2.5 percent to 15,947.87, while the Topix index was 2.7 percent higher to 1,591.04.

The real estate sector was up 2.9 percent as a whole. Mitsui Fudosan gained 2 percent to ¥2,595, while Mitsubishi Estate was 3.4 percent higher to ¥2,465 and Sumitomo Realty & Development added 4.8 percent to ¥3,300.

Another domestically-focused sector, retailers, were up 2.9 percent. Broad-based retailer Seven & I was 3.2 percent higher to ¥3,820, while department store chain Matsuzakaya gained 3.6 percent to ¥751. Isetan added 5.2 percent to ¥1,943. General retailer Aeon was 3.5 percent higher after it said that, due to performance in its supermarkets, it will probably see a 19 percent rise in operating profits when it releases its half-year results.

In the steel sector, JFE gained 2.5 percent to ¥4,570. Nippon Steel, meanwhile, was up 3.5 percent to ¥479.

Consumer electronics were mixed. While Sony was up 3 percent to ¥4,860, Sharp dropped 1.2 percent to ¥2,020 after it announced that it will issue ¥200 billion worth of convertible bonds. The news spurred concerns that share values could be diluted.

The Tokyo equities markets were higher on Tuesday, with the real estate and retail sectors up and the insurance sector down slightly. The Nikkei 225 ended the session 0.2 percent higher to 16,385.96, while the Topix index added 0.1 percent to 1,651.35.

Export-focuses sectors were lower as the yen strengthened. In the automobile manufacturing sector, Toyota dropped 0.5 percent to ¥6,340 and Nissan declined by 0.8 percent to ¥1,337.

Consumer electronics was down as well, with Matsushita Electric Industrial falling 0.6 percent to ¥2,510. Sharp dropped 1.9 percent to ¥2,080 after Daiwa cut its recommendation from “outperform” to “neutral” and revised its estimates of Sharp’s 2007-2008 operating profit in a downward direction.

Among domestic stocks, the insurance sector fell 0.8 percent as a whole, with Millea 0.9 percent lower to ¥2,170,000 and Sompo Japan down by 1.5 percent to ¥1,532.

Retailers were up 0.8 percent as a sector. Aeon gained 1 percent to ¥3,040, while department store chain Isetan was 1.8 percent higher to ¥2,035.

The real estate sector was higher on rising property prices, adding 2.1 percent as a whole. Mitsui Fudosan was 1.5 percent higher to ¥2,730. Sumitomo Realty & Development was 2 percent higher to ¥3,600, while Mitsubishi Estate gained 2.9 percent to ¥2,675.

The Tokyo equities markets were mixed on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 dropping 0.3 percent to 15,816.19, while the Topix index added 0.3 percent to 1,605.12.

Among losers on the day was Sony which fell 0.4 percent to ¥5,210 after it was revealed that Dell has had to recall over 4 million laptop computers due to defective batteries manufactured by Sony. Shipper Mitsui OSK, meanwhile, was 2.9 percent lower to ¥808 after it said one of its ships caused a spill in the Indian Ocean.

Financial sectors did well on the day. The securities sector added 1.8 percent as a whole, with Nikko Cordial 1.9 percent higher to ¥1,480 and Nomura up 2.1 percent to ¥2,150. Banks were also up, with Mizuho gaining 0.4 percent to ¥957,000 and Mitsubishi UFJ up 0.6 percent to ¥1,610,000.

Among consumer finance companies, Credit Saison added 2.3 percent to ¥5,250 on the news that it might be possible that consumer lenders might avoid the government’s plan to put a cap on how much interest these non-bank lenders are allowed to charge on their loans.

The retail sector was 0.5 percent higher as a whole, with department store chain Isetan adding 0.8 percent to ¥1,981.

Mitsui Fudosan was also up 0.8 percent on the session to ¥2,610, outdoing the real estate sector as a whole, which was 0.6 percent higher.

The Tokyo equities markets were up on Tuesday as concerns that the US will raise interest rates again soon retreated. Export-reliant stocks did better than domestic stocks even though new data has supported the idea that the Japanese economy continues to recover. The Nikkei 225 added 0.4 percent to 15,638.50, while the Topix index gained 0.6 percent to 1,602.43. It was the first time in nearly a month that the Topix managed to close above the 6,000 level.

Retailers continued to rally with evidence that summer shoppers were active. Aeon and Isetan each added 1.8 percent, to ¥2,615 and ¥2,035 respectively. Department store operator Mitsukoshi gained 2.5 percent to ¥569.

Consumer electronics makers saw gains on expectations that the US market would continue to be strong. Kyocera was up 1.4 percent to ¥9,010. Sony also added 1.4 percent, to ¥5,100. Digital camera maker Canon gained 3.4 percent to ¥5,740.

Automobile manufacturers were also up on the session. Nissan was up 0.5 percent to ¥1,263, while Toyota gained 0.8 percent to ¥6,010. Mazda added 5.2 percent to ¥768 on an upgrade from “neutral” to “buy” from Goldman Sachs.

Japan Airlines, meanwhile, recovered a bit of Monday’s losses when it gained 1.5 percent to ¥277.

The Tokyo equities markets were up slightly on Monday after a new Tankan survey from the Bank of Japan showed that large companies are planning much larger levels of capital spending than they said they were in the last survey. The new numbers show that businesses are confident that the Japanese economic recovery will continue, and hinted that the Bank will abandon zero interest rates sooner rather than later.

The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index each added 0.4 percent, to 15,571.62 and 1,593.22 respectively.

The retail sector gained 1.2 percent as a whole. General retailer Aeon added 2.4 percent to ¥2,570, while department store chain Isetan gained 2.5 percent to ¥1,999. Another department store chain, Mitsukoshi, was up 6.1 percent to ¥555 after it announced strong operating profits for the quarter ending in May.

Miners saw advances as commodity prices rose once again. Mitsubishi Materials gained 3.1 percent to ¥503, while Sumitomo Metal Mining advanced by 5.4 percent to 1,572.

Japan Airlines dropped 4.9 percent to ¥273 after Friday’s news that it will have to sell new shares to update its fleet and cut debt.

Komatsu, the construction machinery maker, added 2.2 percent to ¥2,325.