Tokyo’s markets were mixed on the session Monday.

The Nikkei 225 added 0.16 percent to 17,358.15, but the Topix index dropped 0.12 percent to 1,657.44 and the Mothers market was down 1.57 percent to 867.62.

Carmakers were lower after HSBC Holdings said that Toyota (TYO: 7203.T; NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT) will likely see profits weaken in the second half of its current fiscal year as the US economy slows down.

Toyota was 1.7 percent lower to ¥6,450, while Honda (TYO: 7267; NYSE: HMC) dropped 2 percent to ¥3,930.

Miners were higher.

Nippon Mining (TYO: 5016), which has interests in oil, coal and non-ferrous metals, added 1.6 percent to ¥1,196, while Sumitomo Metal Mining (TYO: 5713) gained 2.3 percent to ¥2,915 and Mitsui Mining (TYO: 5706) was up 4.2 percent to ¥2,915.

In the semiconductors sector, chipmakers were lower but makers of equipment related to making and testing chips saw gains.

Rohm (TYO: 6963) was down 0.7 percent to ¥10,120 and Toshiba (TYO: 6502; LSE: TOS) dropped 1.6 percent to ¥1,036 after Nomura dropped its recommendation on the sector from “bullish” to “neutral”.

However Tokyo Electron (TYO: 8035) was up 2.9 percent to ¥7,510 while Advantest (TYO: 6857; NYSE: ATE) added 6.4 percent to ¥3,850.

Tokyo equities markets were higher on Thursday even though the non-ferrous metals sector declined by 0.4 percent after commodities prices fell in the overnight hours. The Nikkei 225 added 0.6 percent to 16,473.36, while the Topix index gained 0.5 percent to 1,622.77.

The recent advances in the consumer finance sector seemed to be slowing down. Takefuji remained steady at ¥4,770 and Credit Saison was 0.9 percent higher to ¥4,300. Only Aiful managed a significant gain, adding 4.1 percent to ¥3,850.

Two companies made their trading debuts on the session, but both IPOs suffered losses on their first day. Independent investment research business Japaninvest debuted with an IPO price fo ¥150,000 but closed down to ¥135,000. Meanwhile, internet service provider Nifty’s IPO price was ¥210,000; it ended the session at ¥203,000.

In the telecommunications sector, results were mixed. KDDI added 0.3 percent to ¥784,000, but Softbank dropped 0.4 percent to ¥3,475 and NTT DoCoMo fell 1.1 percent to ¥180,000 on the news that it has lost subscribers for the first time.

Among companies that deal in non-ferrous metals, Toho Zinc dropped 0.4 percent to ¥979, while Sumitomo Metal Mining fell 0.7 percent to ¥1,524 and Mitsui Mining $ Smelting was 1.3 percent lower to ¥551.

The Tokyo equities markets were significantly higher on Thursday after new data showed that exports were up substantially in May. The Nikkei 225 added 3.4 percent to 15,135.69, while the Topix index was up 2.9 percent to 1,549.12. The gains came even though some are calling for the resignation of the governor of the Bank of Japan after he invested in a fund created by shareholder activist Yoshiaki Murakami, who was recently put under arrest.

Shares in companies dependent on commodities were up, with Mitsui Mining and Smelting adding 5.8 percent to ¥675 and Sumitomo Metal Mining rising by 6.3 percent to ¥1,352.

Electronics-related companies were up substantially as well. Both printer and camera maker Canon and consumer electronics and entertainment giant Sony added 3.6 percent on the day, to ¥8,000 and ¥4,940 respectively. Sharp gained 4.5 percent to ¥1,767, while Sanyo Electric was up 4.6 percent to ¥251 and Kyocera rose by the same percentage to ¥8,940. Tokyo Electron advanced by 5.9 percent to ¥7,760. Casio Computer added 7.2 percent to ¥2,030.

The securities sector, meanwhile, was up by 4.8 percent as a whole. Nomura gained 4.7 percent to ¥2,135, while Mitsubishi UFJ Securities was up 5 percent to ¥1,459. Daiwa Securities was up 5.1 percent to ¥1,459. Nikko Cordial advanced by 5.9 percent to ¥1,543.

Declines in stocks related to commodities sent the Tokyo equities markets lower on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 dropped 1.4 percent to 14,648.41, while the Topix index declined by 1.1 percent to 1,510.32. The Mother’s index of small and mid-cap stocks was also down, by 2.1 percent.

Transport-related stocks were down on the day. Japan’s largest airline, JAL, lost 2 percent to ¥299 on news of a possible strike on Wednesday that could disrupt flight schedules. Railways were down as well. Hankyu lost 4 percent to ¥535 after it said it had paid more than it intended to for Hanshin Electric Railway, which was down 5.4 percent to ¥848.

Commodities-related stocks fell as concerns continued about the state of the US economy as well as in reaction to Monday’s news that China’s central bank has begun a program to decrease lending, which could see demand for commodities there decline. Sumitomo Metal Mining lost 4.5 percent to ¥1,253, while Mitsui Mining & Smelting dropped 3.8 percent to ¥638.

Falling crude oil prices sent shares in oil-related companies lower. Nippon Oil declined by 0.9 percent to ¥799, while refiner and distributor Cosmo was down 2 percent to ¥502 and Inpex fell 3 percent to ¥890,000.

Glassmakers were also lower on the day. Asahi Glass, Japan’ largest, was down 2.3 percent to ¥1,417, while Nippon Sheet Glass dropped 4.1 percent to ¥615 as investors showed their displeasure that it now owns UK glassmaker Pilkington.

Advances were seen in the pharmaceutical sector, where Daiichi Sankyo added 1.4 percent to ¥2,930, as well as in restaurants, where Yoshinoya D&C added 2.2 percent to ¥229,000 on the prospect that US beef imports might resume soon.

In Tokyo on Wednesday the equities markets were up for the first time in over a week, with the Nikkei 225 up 0.9 percent to 16,307.67 and the Topix index gaining 0.7 percent to 1,657.07. Commodities stocks that were higher after recent declines were key to the day’s gains, even as sectors focused on domestic demand were generally down on the day.

The securities sector was down by 0.4 percent as a whole. Daiwa Securities, for example, was 2 percent lower to ¥1,463.

Retailers as a sector were also 0.4 percent lower, although stocks within the sector were mixed. Department store chain Matsuzakaya dropped by 1.5 percent to ¥933. On the other hand, convenience store chain Circle K Sunkus added 3.3 percent on the day to ¥2,690.

Steel and non-ferrous metals sectors were each 3 percent higher on the day, helped out by higher commodities prices. Mitsui Mining & Smelting and Sumitomo Metal Mining each added 4.7 percent, to ¥817 and ¥1,602 respectively. Nippon Steel, meanwhile, gained 4.4 percent to ¥428.

In the consumer finance sector, Aiful dropped 10.4 percent to ¥6,110 after it said that its annual profits were down last year and that they would probably fall further this year after it was forced by government regulators to shut down for a period earlier in the month.

The Tokyo equities markets were up on Monday after last week’s break for the Golden Week holiday. The Nikkei 225 added 0.8 percent to 17,291.67 and the Topix index was up 1 percent to 1,755.03. Most of the gains were in domestic sectors, as banks were up 1.9 percent as a whole, while the real estate sector gained 4.6 percent and securities added 3.6 percent.

The gains in real estate came after the Bank of Japan released data showing that property prices in Japan were up for the first time in 15 years. Mitsui Fudosan added 6.7 percent to ¥2,690, while Sumitomo Realty & Development gained 5.9 percent to ¥3,210 and Mitsubishi Estate was up 3.2 percent to ¥2,565.

In the securities sector, Nomura gained 3.3 percent to ¥2,670, while Daiwa Securities added 4.3 percent to ¥1,665.

Among banks, Mitsubishi UFJ was up 2.2 percent to ¥1,840,000.

Sectors more focused on exports had a harder time on the day. Japan’s largest automobile manufacturer, Toyota, dropped 0.6 percent to ¥6,760.

Consumer electronics were mixed, with Sharp down 1.2 percent to ¥2,020 but Sony rising 2 percent to ¥5,660.

Steelmakers and miners had a better day of it. In the steel sector, Sumitomo Metal Industries added 2.3 percent to ¥497, while JFE gained 2.9 percent to ¥4,620. Non-ferrous metals company Mitsui Mining & Smelting was up 4.2 percent to ¥847. Toho Zinc added 3.4 percent to ¥1,149.

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.

The Nikkei and Topix indexes both saw declines in Tokyo on Monday as domestic stocks and stocks related to the commodities markets fell on the day.

The Nikkei 225 closed below 16,000 for the first time in over two weeks as it dropped 2.3 percent to 15,877.66. The Topix index fell 2.5 percent to 1,618.01.

Mitsui Mining’s announcement that it had reduced its zinc prices led to a 7 percent drop for the company’s shares, to ¥759. Meanwhile, falling crude oil prices led to declines in upstream oil companies. Inpex lost 7.5 percent to ¥1,110,000, while Teikoku Oil fell 7.3 percent to ¥1,604. However, oil-dependent transport companies did not benefit from the drop in oil prices and both the air and sea transport sectors declined on the day. Shipper Mitsui OSK Lines fell 3.3 percent to ¥881.

On the domestic side, a wide variety of stocks declined on worries that Japan’s stock market rally would not last. The retail sector dropped 2.9 percent as a whole, while real estate fell 3.9 percent and the securities sector declined by 4.7 percent.

In the retail sector, department stores saw the brunt of the declines with Takashimaya down 4.2 percent to ¥1,649 and Matsuzakaya falling 2.5 percent to ¥989. The downgrade of retailer Daiei by Merrill Lynch from “neutral” to “sell” sent shares in that company down 12.4 percent to ¥3,540.

Real estate company Tokyu Land dropped 4 percent to ¥1,112, while in the securities sector Daiwa Securities fell 6.6 percent to end at ¥1,263.