Tokyo’s equities markets were higher on Tuesday.

The Nikkei 225 added 0.3 percent to 16,844.61, while the Topix index was up 0.3 percent to 1,637.46.

The Mothers market gained 0.62 percent to 722.26.

General traders, significantly lower in recent sessions, did better on the day.

Mitsubishi Corp (TYO: 8058; OTC: MSBHY) was 4.2 percent higher to ¥3,090, while Itochu (TYO: 8001) added 6.9 percent to ¥1,323.

Itochu had dropped 18 percent since the beginning of the month.

Home appliance retailers did very well as continued temperatures of over 35 degrees centigrade (95 degrees Fahrenheit) boosted sales of air conditioners.

Kojima (TYO: 7513) was 5.8 percent higher to ¥998, while Edion (TYO: 2730) jumped 9.9 percent to ¥1,210.

Shippers did better on the possibility that rates for shipping could go up as carriers worked near capacity.

Nippon Yusen (TYO: 9101) was up 3.4 percent to ¥1,147, while Kawasaki Kisen (TYO: 9107) added 4.3 percent to ¥1,549 and Mitsui OSK Lines (TYO: 9104) gained 4.6 percent to ¥1,698.

Declines came in financial services as subprime market worries continued.

Among banks, Sumitomo Mitsui (TYO: 8316) was 1 percent lower to ¥978,000, while Mitsubishi UFJ (TYO: 8306; NYSE: MTU) was down 1.7 percent to ¥1.14 million for its lowest close in nearly 2 years.

Insurer Millea Holdings (TYO: 8766) dropped 2.1 percent to ¥4,690.

Tokyo’s equities markets declined Monday as Monday’s earthquake affected insurance and utilities shares.

The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.1 percent to 18,217.27, while the Topix index was 0.3 percent lower to 1,778.11.

Non-life insurers took a hit in expectation of large claims for property damage in the earthquake areas.

Millea Holdings (TYO: 8766; NAS: MLEA) fell 1.7 percent to ¥5,110, while Sompo Japan Insurance (TYO: 8755) was 2.3 percent lower to ¥1,474.

Also seeing declines after the earthquake was Tokyo Electric Power (TYO: 9501), which dropped 1.1 percent to ¥3,570 on reports that the quake had damaged one of its nuclear plants.

Carmakers were lower as well on a stronger yen.

Toyota Motor (TYO: 7203.T; NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT) was 1.6 percent lower to ¥7,560.

Shipping companies were higher on the session on positive broker comment, with Mitsui OSK Lines (TYO: 9104) was 2.6 percent higher to ¥1,828.

Two trading companies saw record highs in their share prices during the session.

Mitsui & Co (TYO: 8031; NAS: MITSY) gained 3 percent to close at ¥2,880, while Marubeni was 3.3 percent higher to ¥1,208.

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.

In Tokyo on Wednesday both the Nikkei 225 and the Topix index saw substantial losses as investors continued to worry about the condition of the US economy. The Nikkei closed down 1.9 percent to 15,096.01, it’s lowest closing level since November. Meanwhile, the Topix dropped 2.2 percent to 1,533.54. Another drag on the markets was the continued pullout of foreign investors from the Japanese market, as sell orders from foreign sources exceeded buy orders for the tenth day in a row.

Automobile manufacturers suffered due to their exposure to US demand. Mazda was down 4.5 percent to ¥651. Honda lost 2 percent to 7,190, Nissan dropped 1.4 percent to ¥1,303, and Toyota, Japan’s largest carmaker, declined by 1.3 percent to ¥5,920.

Heavy machinery manufacturer Komatsu dropped 6.5 percent to ¥2,015 on a downgrade from “buy” to “sell” from KBC Securities.

The electronics sector was down 2.3 percent as a whole as Matsushita Electric, which makes the Panasonic brand of consumer electronics, fell 2 percent to ¥2,415. Pioneer lost 6.6 percent to ¥1,766.

Export-focused stocks were not the only losers on the day, as the banking sector fell 2 percent as a whole and Mizuho declined by 3 percent to ¥891,000. Securities and insurance companies were also down. Daiwa Securities dropped 5.2 percent to ¥1,350, while life insurer Millea was down 4 percent to ¥1,900,000.