After posting gains early in the session, the Nikkei 225 ended the session in Tokyo at 0.09 percent lower on Tuesday to 16,287.49 and the Topix index fell 0.2 percent to 1,584.6.

The Mothers market, however, managed a gain of 0.04 percent to 731.34.

Shippers were higher after Standard & Poor’s raised the credit rating of several companies to BBB.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (TYO: 9107) added 1.2 percent to ¥1,485, while Nippon Yusen (TYO: 9101) was up 1.4 percent to ¥1,123 and Mitsui OSK (TYO: 9104) gained 1.5 percent to ¥1,652.

Nippon Sheet Glass (TYO: 5202) was 4.8 percent higher to ¥673 after Daiwa Securities (TYO: 8601) raised its recommendation to “buy”, while robot maker Yaskawa Electric Corp (TYO: 6506) gained 4.1 percent to ¥1,346 as Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675) began coverage with a “buy” rating.

Banks were lower on the session, with Mitsubishi UFJ (TYO: 8306; NYSE: MTU) down 1.8 percent to ¥1.11 million and Sumitomo Mitsui (TYO: 8316) was 1.9 percent lower to ¥902,000.

In the electronics sector, Sony (TYO: 6758; NYSE: SNE) dropped 0.6 percent to ¥5,380 and Matsushita Electric Industrial (TYO: 6572; NYSE: MC) fell 1.5 percent to ¥2,000.

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.

Equities markets in Tokyo fell again on Thursday as concerns remained about the state of the US economy. The Nikkei 225 dropped 3.1 percent to 14,633.03, its largest one-day decline in a year. Meanwhile, the Topix index was down 3.3 percent to 1,482.22.

The oil sector was down on declining oil prices. Oil developer Inpex Holdings fell 2.1 percent to ¥888,000. Japan Petroleum Exploration was down 5.1 percent to ¥6,670.

Exporters were also down substantially on worries that US demand could be down if the economy slows and if the US Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates. Automobile manufacturers were among the losers. Toyota dropped 3.4 percent to ¥5,720, while Honda lost 3.6 percent to ¥6,930.

However, some more domestically-focused sectors were also down on the day. Daiwa Securities, for example, declined by 4.2 percent to ¥1,294.

There were gains on the day in individual stocks. Restaurant chain Skylark added 14 percent to ¥2,365 on rumors that it may be planning a buyout worth upwards of $2.3 billion. Also up was Nippon Sheet Glass, which gained 4.9 percent to ¥599 on news that the European Commission has approved its purchase of Pilkington. This bucked the trend in the glass and ceramics sector, which fell by 2.6 percent on the day.

The Tokyo equities markets were up on Monday on gains in the banking and steel sectors. The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index were each up by 0.6 percent to 16,192.95 and 1,656.82 respectively.

Despite the gains, the real estate sector was down for the day even though indications are that foreign investment is returning to the sector after pulling back for a couple of weeks. The sector as a whole was down 1.3 percent, with Tokyu Land down 4 percent to ¥1,039 and no movement at all for Mitsui Fudosan, which was trading at ¥2,435.

The banking sector was up 1 percent on the day, with Mitsubishi UFJ gaining 2.4 percent to ¥1,700,000.

Steel was up sharply, with Nippon Steel gaining 5.2 percent to ¥465. Also up were Sumitomo Metal Industries, which gained 3.6 percent to ¥520, and JFE, which rose 3.8 percent to ¥4,420.

Also gaining substantially was Nippon Sheet Glass, up 5.2 percent to ¥509 as investors expected that merger attempt with British glassmaker Pilkington would be successful.

A new trading system for the Osaka Securities Exchange, Japan’s second biggest exchange, sent its shares up 6.9 percent to ¥1,060,000. The successful launch of the new system is expected to solve recent computer and data feed problems for the exchange, which handles around three percent of Japan’s equities trade.