There were slight gains in the Tokyo equities markets on Wednesday as investors continue to hesitate ahead of the Bank of Japan’s interest rate decision, due Thursday. The Nikkei 225 added 0.3 percent to 17,261.35, while the Topix index was up 0.2 percent to 1,706.76.

The banking sector was lower, dropping 1.1 percent as a whole. Sumitomo Trust & Banking matched the sector with a 1.1 percent decline, to ¥1,309. Mitsubishi UFJ held steady at ¥1,530,000.

On the other hand, the real estate sector saw gains on the session. Mitsui Fudosan was 1.9 percent higher to ¥2,970, while Sumitomo Realty & Development added 2.1 percent to ¥3,830 and Mitsubishi Estate was up 2.9 percent to ¥3,240.

With the yen weaker, some export-focused stocks were up, with the machinery sector gaining 1 percent. Construction equipment manufacturer Komatsu gained 1.5 percent to ¥2.425.

The Japanese semiconductors sector was lower on the session after US chipmaker Intel said that its profits in the fourth quarter were down by 40 percent and warned that margins would not improve anytime soon. Tokyo Electron dropped 0.3 percent to ¥9,270, while Advantest fell 0.5 percent to ¥6,630.

NTT DoCoMo was 0.5 percent lower to ¥190,000 after its spring line of mobile units failed to impress.

Equities markets in Tokyo were up on Monday, with the Nikkei 225 adding 0.9 percent to 17,209.92 and the Topix index ending 1.1 percent higher to 1,704.58. The Topix was helped by new data showing that core machinery orders in the private sector were up 3.8 percent in November. The new numbers helped not only the construction machinery sector but also the banking sector, as the data raised the chances that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates when it meets later this week.

The banking sector was 2 percent higher as a whole, with Mitsubishi UF up 1.3 percent to ¥1,530,000. Sumitomo Trust & Banking added 2.8 percent to ¥1,325, while SMFG gained 3.3 percent to ¥1,270,000.

The news that Shinko Securities and Mizuho Securities will merge promoted more consolidation speculation in the securities sector, which added 2.7 percent on the session. Daiwa Securities was 3.4 percent higher to ¥1,394. Meanwhile, Nikko Cordial gained 3.3 percent to ¥1,309 after it was learned that Canadian investment management firm Mackenzie Financial has become its largest shareholder.

In the construction machinery sector, Fanuc added 1.5 percent to ¥11,350, while Komatsu was up 1.7 percent to ¥2,365.

Among export-focused stocks, Sharp was 0.4 percent higher to ¥1,992, while Honda gained 1.7 percent to ¥4,690.

Declines in the banking sector sent the Tokyo equities markets lower on Thursday, with the Nikkei 225 dropping 0.2 percent to 16,368.81 and the Topix index down 0.5 percent to 1,613.64. Consumer finance companies, however, saw gains on the session.

In the consumer finance sector, Takefuji added 0.9 percent to ¥4,630, while Jaccs was 4.1 percent higher to ¥890 and Aiful advanced 4.4 percent to ¥4,020. Despite the gains in the sector, it was still down for the week.

Canon dropped 2.4 percent to ¥6,510 on a downgrade from “buy” to “hold” from Deutsche Bank, making the cut on the basis of the printer and copier maker’s rising share price. Sony, however, was 1.8 percent higher to ¥4,590 after its joint project with Ericsson to make mobile phones posted much better than expected results in the third quarter.

The banking sector saw declines on the session, falling 2.3 percent as a whole after UBS cut the ratings of several of Japan’s largest financial institutions. The reason given for the downgrades was that spreads between deposits and lending rates have not been improving quickly enough. SMFG dropped 1.6 percent to ¥1,240,000, while Mizuho Financial fell 2 percent to ¥906,000, Mitsubishi UFJ was 3.2 percent lower to ¥1,530,000, and Sumitomo Trust and Banking was off by 4.6 percent to ¥1,248.

These declines were partly offset by a 1.3 percent rise in the non-ferrous metals sector after metals prices increased. Sumitomo Metal Mining added 3.5 percent to ¥1,463.

Reversing recent declines, domestic sectors in Japan posted huge gains on Tuesday, sending the Nikkei 225 and Topix indicies up to their sharpest rises in three weeks.

The Nikkei was up a full 3 percent to 15,894.94, while the Topix index gained 2.5 percent to 1,612.56.

The real estate sector had the largest gains, up 8.1 percent overall, while retailers gained 4.5 percent and construction stocks grew by 4.9 percent as a sector. Banking advanced by 2.5 percent, while securities companies gained 6.3 percent. The gains came on the news that foreigners buying stocks outnumbered those selling for the first time in two weeks.

In the retail sector Fast Retailing, Japan’s largest casual clothes manufacturer, gained 8.4 percent to ¥10,560 on the announcement that it will open a store in New York City.

Kajima, Japan’s biggest general construction contractor, advanced by 10.2 percent to ¥671.

In the banking sector, Mitsubishi UFJ gained 1.9 percent to ¥1,600,000, while Mizuho rose 3.3 percent to ¥899,000. Meanwhile, Daiwa securities was up 6.4 percent to ¥1,309.

Japan’s biggest real estate companies saw gains on the day in the range of six to nearly twelve percent. Mitsui Fudosan gained 7.1 percent to ¥2,345, while Tokyu Land grew by the same percentage to ¥1,023. Mitsubishi Estate gained 6.2 percent to ¥2,385. The biggest gains in the sector came from Sumitomo Realty & Development, which gained 10.2 percent to ¥2,645 and from NTT Urban Development, which was up 11.9 percent to ¥938,000.

In Tokyo on Thursday, the Nikkei 225 was up 1.4 percent to 13,617.24, its highest close since May 2001. The Topix index rose even more, gaining 1.9 percent to 1,428.13 on the day.

The gains came on figures showing retail sales in Japan up 1.5 percent from August of last year, a confirmation that domestic demand has grown. Also helping stocks gain ground was anticipation of positive news with Friday’s release of industrial production and consumer price inflation data.

The banking sector was up after Wednesday’s comments that the Bank of Japan could soon be abandoning its ultra-easy monetary policy, which could lead to higher lending rates. SMFG was up 0.9 percent to ¥1,070,000, while MTFG gained 5.1 percent to ¥1,450,000 and Mizuho rose by 5.3 percent to ¥742,000.

The steel sector was also up again. Sumitomo Metal Industries gained 8.8 percent to ¥435, while Nippon Steel was up 6.9 percent to ¥452. In the retail sector, department store Takashimaya rose 3.3 percent to ¥1,406 on a raised earnings forecast in the six months ending in August.

Wholesale broadband provider eAccess was up 8.4 percent to ¥86,000 on the announcement that it might invest in a mobile phone service. Consumer electronics company Sanyo dropped 4.3 percent to ¥288 after its restructuring announcement on Wednesday.

Tokyo equities markets were up on Wednesday, with the Nikkei 225 gaining 0.4 percent to reach another four-year high of 13,196.57.

The Topix index also closed 0.4 percent higher at 1,357.71. On the down side, shares in department stores fell when Deutsche Bank downgraded several companies from “buy” to “hold”.

Among those seeing losses on the day were Isetan, which fell 0.6 percent to ¥1,753; Marui, which dropped 0.9 percent to ¥1,867; and Takashimaya, which lost 2.3 percent to ¥1,334. Sony was off another 0.5 percent to ¥4,030 ahead of Thursday’s announcement on how it will attempt to turn its fortunes around.

The financial sector, on the other hand, saw gains on the day. Mizuho gained 0.2 percent to ¥673,000, MTFG was up 1.6 percent to ¥1,240,000, and SMFG rose by 2 percent to ¥1,030,000.

The real estate sector was also up, with Mitsui Fudosan gaining 1.5 percent to ¥1,660 and Sumitomo Real Estate Sales rising by 6.7 percent to ¥5,880. Gains in real estate came on an announcement Tuesday by the land ministry that prices on both commercial and residential properties in Tokyo had gone up for the first time in 15 years.