The Tokyo equities markets saw very little net movement on Tuesday, as exporters gained but domestic stocks were largely lower on the session. The Nikkei 225 added 0.1 percent to 15,874.28, but the Topix index dropped 0.1 percent to 1,591.98.
Among domestic stocks, the real estate sector was 0.5 percent lower, while banks and the securities sectors were each down by 0.7 percent over the session. In the securities sector, the declines hit both traditional and online brokerages. Nomura fell 0.9 percent to ¥2,100, while Mitsubishi dropped 2.5 percent to ¥2,130 and Mitsui was 3.6 percent lower to ¥1,474. Iwai Securities declined by 7 percent to ¥1,860. Online broker Kabu.com dropped 5 percent to ¥207,000, while rival Monex Beans was 3.3 percent lower to ¥96,700.
Meanwhile, in the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ fell 1.3 percent to ¥1,480,000.
In the real estate sector Mitsubishi Estate dropped 0.4 percent to ¥2,575, while Mitsui Fudosan was 0.7 percent lower to ¥2,670.
Gains in export-focused sectors were typically small. Carmaker Toyota added 0.5 percent to ¥6,280, while Matsushita Electric Industrial gained 0.8 percent to ¥2,475. Higher commodities prices sent metals companies higher. Sumitomo Metal Mining was up by 1.3 percent to ¥1,538.