Tokyo’s markets were mixed on Friday’s session.

The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.16 percent to 17,065.04, but the Topix index added 0.08 percent to 1,656.91 while the Mothers market gained 3.98 percent to 848.78.

Decliners on the session included Casio Computer (TYO: 6952), which makes a diverse range of devices including watches and mobile phones.

Casio dropped 19 percent, its daily maximum, to ¥1,272 after it reported that net income in its fiscal first half dropped by 58 percent, spurring broker downgrades.

Elsewhere in the electronics sector, Matsushita Electric Industrial (TYO: 6572; NYSE: MC) fell 3.3 percent to ¥2,080.

Traders and the oil sector gained on higher oil prices.

Trader Mitsui & Co. (TYO: 8031) was 0.7 percent higher to ¥2,800.

In the oil sector, Inpex (TYO: 1605) gained 2.5 percent to ¥1.21 million, while AOC Holdings (TYO: 5017) added 2.6 percent to ¥1,769.

Retailer Aeon (TYO: 8267) was 3 percent higher to ¥1,672 on a report that its net income in its fiscal first half added 2.8 percent and as it announced a higher dividend for the full year and a stock buyback worth up to ¥70 billion.

There were also gains in the consumer finance sector.

Promise (TYO: 8574) was up 4.6 percent to ¥2,960 on reports that it will post a higher net income in the current fiscal year than had been estimated.

Acom (TYO: 8572; OTC: ACMU) added 5.2 percent to ¥2,840, while Aiful (TYO: 8515) jumped 17 percent to ¥2,115.

Tokyo’s markets were higher on Thursday, as the Nikkei 225 had its highest close in a month and a half with a gain of 2.41 percent to 16,832.22.

The Topix index added 2.48 percent to 1,615.15 while the Mothers market was 5.52 percent higher to 720.5.

Banks were higher on rumors that investor Warren Buffett is looking to buy a stake in Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC), boosting investor confidence that the subprime crisis will not cripple the financial services sector.

Among banks, Mizuho (TYO: 8411; NYSE: MFG) was up 4.78 percent to ¥658,000, while Resona Holdings (TYO: 8308) added 6.9 percent to ¥190,000.

Sumitomo Mitsui (TYO: 8316) gained 7 percent to ¥891,000. Regional bank Suruga Bank Ltd (TYO: 8358) was up 11 percent to ¥1,402 after it said it is talking to Japan Post about a deal.

Brokers were also higher, with Nomura Holdings (TYO: 8604; NYSE: NMR; SGX: N33) closing at ¥1,938 and Daiwa Securities (TYO: 8601) adding 8.6 percent to ¥1,114.

The consumer finance sector also saw gains after Takefuji (TYO: 8564) was reported to be preparing results showing that it will cross over into profit this year after losing ¥481.2 billion last year.

Takefuji was 16 percent higher to ¥2,155 after gaining the full amount allowed by the exchange in a session, while Aiful (TYO: 8515) and Promise (TYO: 8574) each gained 15 percent, to ¥1,909 and ¥2,850 respectively.

In the real estate sector, Deutsche Bank (FWB: DBK; NYSE: DB) raised its recommendations on both Mitsui Fudosan (TYO: 8801; NAS: MDSFF) and Sumitomo Realty & Development (TYO: 8830) from “hold” to “buy”.

Mitsui Fudosan was 7.7 percent higher to ¥3,210, while Sumitomo was up 7.9 percent to ¥4,090.

Elsewhere, Japan Tobacco (TYO: 2914) added 4.5 percent to ¥634,000 on a report out of London that it will bid on Turkey’s state-owned cigarette maker, Tekel.

Equities markets were mixed in Tokyo on Thursday, with the real estate sector higher but the consumer finance and semiconductors sectors in decline.

The Nikkei 225 was 0.2 percent higher to 16,413.79, but the Topix index retreated slightly and was down 0.05 percent to 1,566.84.

The Mothers market of small and mid-caps also declined, falling 0.81 percent to 628.23.

The consumer finance sector was down substantially after UFJ Nicos (TYO: 8583) said that instead of a profit it would lose ¥100 billion this fiscal year.

Nicos, which is part of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (TYO: 8306; NYSE: MTU), was 13.4 percent lower to ¥241.

Elsewhere in the sector Aiful (TYO: 8515) dropped 11 percent to ¥1,732, while Acom (TYO: 8572) was down 7.8 percent to ¥2,560 and Promise (TYO: 8574) fell 4.5 percent to ¥2,655.

The semiconductors sector also saw declines after analysts at Dramexchange said that the price of computer memory will decline next quarter due to oversupply.

Chip-making equipment maker Advantest (TYO: 6857; NYSE: ATE) was 4.7 percent lower to ¥3,690, while Tokyo Electron (TYO: 8035) dropped 4.9 percent to ¥7,340.

The real estate sector was higher on a government report that said commercial land prices were higher in the year ending in June.

Mitsui Fudosan (TYO: 8801; NAS: MDSFF) gained 1.6 percent to ¥2,860, while Sumitomo Realty & Development (TYO: 8830) added 1.7 percent to ¥3,610.

The Tokyo equities markets saw gains on Friday.

The Nikkei 225 gained 0.2 percent to 18,157.93 and the Topix closed at 1,776.17, 0.5 percent higher on the session.

In the electronics sector, Matsushita Electric Industrial (TYO: 6572; NYSE: MC), which makes the Panasonic brand of consumer electronics, added 1.5 percent to ¥2,385.

The steel sector was also higher, with Nippon Steel (TYO: 5401) adding 3.9 percent to ¥955 after it was reported that Japan’s output of crude steel was at a 33-year high in the first half of 2007.

On the other hand, the telecommunications sector was lower after KDDI (TYO: 9433) and Softbank (TYO: 9984) both decided to cut fees to mobile phone users.

NTT DoCoMo (TYO: 9437) fell 1.1 percent to ¥181,000, while Softbank dropped 2.7 percent to ¥2,665 and KDDI was 6.1 percent lower to ¥853,000.

The consumer finance sector also saw losses.

Sanyo Shinpan (TYO: 8573) was 2.2 percent lower to ¥3,520, while Takefuji fell 5.4 percent to ¥3,820 and Promise was down 6.6 percent to ¥3,540.

Tokyo’s equities markets were higher on Thursday, as the Nikkei 225 added 0.6 percent to 18,116.57 and the Topix index gained 0.5 percent to 1,768.

Tokyo Electric Power (TYO: 9501) continued to decline after reports of earthquake damage to one of its nuclear power plants.

It dropped another 5.6 percent to ¥3,400 after Nomura Securities (TYO: 8604; NYSE: NMR; SGX; N33) reduced its recommendation from “neutral” to “reduce”.

The real estate sector also saw declines, with Mitsubishi Estate (TYO: 8802) down 0.9 percent to ¥3,180 and NTT Urban Development (TYO: 8933) falling 1.4 percent to ¥217,000.

The consumer finance sector saw advances after it was reported that Promise (TYO: 8574) and Sanyo Shinpan Finance (TYO: 8573) are about to agree to a merger.

Trade in both companies was halted after the reports, but Promise had added 5.9 percent to ¥3,790 and Sanyo Shinpan was 12.2 percent higher to ¥3,600 before that occurred.

Elsewhere in the sector, Takefuji (TYO: 8564) gained 7.7 percent to ¥4,404 and Aiful (TYO: 8515) was up 11.2 percent to ¥3,480.

The steel sector was up in anticipation of the release of JFE Holdings’ (TYO:5411) quarterly results, due at the end of the month.

JFE added 4.4 percent to ¥8,270, while Nippon Steel (TYL: 5401) was 4.7 percent higher to ¥919.

Tokyo markets were higher as the Nikkei 225 and the Topix index each added 0.3 percent, to 18,221.48 and 1,788.16 respectively.

However, the consumer finance sector there saw declines on media reports that many borrowers are asking for refunds of overcharges on loan interest.

Promise (TYO: 8574) fell 2.4 percent to ¥3,710, while Aiful (TYO: 8515) was 4 percent lower to ¥3,360 and Acom (TYO: 8572; OTC: ACMU) dropped 4.1 percent to ¥4,250.

Bucking the trend was Credit Saison (TYO: 8253), which added 1.3 percent to ¥3,200.

The retail sector added 0.8 percent as a whole, with Aeon (TYO: 8267) up 0.9 percent to ¥2,310. Seven & I (TYO: 3382) gained 2.6 percent to ¥3,600 on an upgrade from “neutral” to “buy” from Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER; TYO: 8675).

In the electronics sector, Matsushita Electric Industrial (TYO: 6572; NYSE: MC) was 0.4 percent higher to ¥2,445, while Nintendo (TYO: 7974; NAS: NTDOY; FWB: NTO) gained 0.5 percent to ¥48,250 and Sony (TYO: 6758; NYSE: SNE) added 2.4 percent to ¥6,460 after recent declines due to poor sales of its PlayStation 3 games console.

The Nikkei 225 closed at 16,371.28 on Wednesday, a gain of 0.7 percent on the session and its highest close in a month. The Topix index was also higher, ending 1 percent higher to 1,615.17. Meanwhile, the Mothers index of small and mid-cap stocks was 1 percent higher to 1,116.51. The gains were largely on advances in domestic sectors.

The securities sector was 1.7 percent higher as a whole, helped by gains in stocks that have brokers convinced that individual investors will come back to the market. Nomura Holdings and Nikko Cordial each matched the sector by adding 1.7 percent on the session, to ¥2,080 and ¥1,477 respectively. Daiwa Securities gained 2.3 percent to ¥1,335.

Real estate also did well, with the sector adding 1.5 percent. Sumitomo Realty & Development was 1.6 percent higher to ¥3,790. Mitsui Fudosan added 1.8 percent to ¥2,835, bringing its gains since the middle of June to over 30 percent.

Electricity generators were up substantially. Tohoku Electric Power gained 2.3 percent to ¥2,845, while Kyushu Electric Power was 3 percent higher to ¥3,050 and Kansai Electric Power added 3.3 percent to ¥3,120.

The consumer finance sector was still on the rise. Jaccs gained 2.2 percent to ¥827, Takefuji added 2.6 percent to ¥4,770, Credit Saison was up 3.4 percent to ¥4,260, and Promise was 3.9 percent higher to ¥4,000.

Tokyo’s major stock indices were nearly unchanged on Monday, with the Nikkei 225 slightly lower and the Topix index slightly higher. However, the Mothers index of small and mid-cap stocks continued its gains with as it gained 1.1 percent to 1,158.58. The Nikkei closed 0.1 percent lower to 16,303.59, while the Topix added .2 percent to 1,607.74.

Domestic sectors were generally higher. Real estate was 1.5 percent higher as a sector, with Mitsui Fudosan gaining 1.1 percent to ¥2,780 and Mitsubishi Estate adding 1.7 percent to ¥2,960.

The consumer finance sector was also higher as it continues to come back from the imposition of a government cap on the amount of interest lenders can charge their customers. Credit Saison added 2.2 percent to ¥4,190, while Promise gained 3.3 percent to ¥4,020. Takefuji was 3.5 percent higher to ¥4,740 and Aiful was up 5.4 percent to ¥3,880.

Nippon Steel added 1.3 percent to ¥528 when it said it is thinking about purchasing a stake in China’s largest steel company, Baosteel.

Nissan Motor was lower, dropping 1.4 percent to ¥1,393 after it said November sales were down in both the domestic market and in the United States.

Tech sectors also saw declines after the Nasdaq Composite dropped last week in the US. Semiconductor-related Advantest was 0.8 percent lower to ¥6,030. In the electronics sector, Sony dropped 1.5 percent to ¥4,550.

Tokyo’s equities markets were mixed on Tuesday, with the Nikkei 225 0.3 percent higher to 16,399.39 but the Topix index dropping 0.2 percent to 1,617.42 on the session.

The banking sector was 1.2 percent lower as a whole as the possibility of interest rates going up again has declined amid domestic economic data which hasn’t lived up to expectations. Meanwhile, the consumer finance sector saw another round of declines after some companies reduced their earnings estimates for the first half of the year. Aiful declined 1 percent to ¥4,040, while Acom dropped 2 percent to ¥4,500 and Promise ended 3 percent lower to ¥4,230. Sanyo Shinpan Finance fell 5.9 percent to ¥4,470.

The telecommunications sector did little better. Softbank dropped 2.9 percent to ¥2,560 after it became known that Japan’s Fair Trade Commission is concerned about the company’s new pricing plan. The news that Softbank lost around 20,000 customers in the first five days of number portability also contributed to its decline. NTT DoCoMo fell 1.1 percent to ¥179,000, also on a decline in the number of its customers. KDDI, on the other hand, added 0.3 percent to ¥729,000 on a gain of tens of thousands of customers.

An upgraded target share price from Deutsche Bank sent property developer Tokyo Tatemono 1.9 percent higher to ¥1,396.

The main Tokyo equities markets were lower on Thursday, with the Nikkei 225 down 0.6 percent to 16,551.36 and the Topix index 0.2 percent lower to 1,635.77. However, the Mothers index of small and mid-caps gained 0.8 percent to 1,235.93.

The consumer finance sector was mixed again. There is some feeling that earlier declines have left share prices in the sector undervalued, but early gains on the session were lost for some. Aiful added 0.2 percent to ¥4,510, while Promise gained 0.5 percent to ¥4,310 and Takefuji was up 1.7 percent to ¥4,820. On the other hand, Credit Saison dropped 0.4 percent to ¥4,920.

Real estate was mixed as well, with the sector as a whole up 0.5 percent on the session as signs continue that property prices are rising all over Japan. While Mitsubishi Estate and Mitsui Fudosan each added 0.2 percent, to ¥2,860 and ¥2,895, Sumitomo Realty & Development was 0.5 percent lower to ¥3,790.

Among export-focused stocks, the semiconductors sector saw losses after the US sector declined on bad news from Intel, which issued a lower capital spending forecast. Tokyo Electron fell 3 percent to ¥9,010, while Advantest dropped 4.4 percent to ¥6,070.