Tokyo’s markets were mixed on Wednesday.

The Nikkei 225 was 0.1 percent higher to 17,177.89, but the Topix index dropped 0.11 percent to 1,658.18 and the Mothers market was down 1.75 percent to 857.19.

Retailers saw gains on news of a cooperation agreement between Aeon (TYO: 8267) and Japan Airlines (TYO: 9205) in which the retailer will link its electronic money card to the airline’s frequent flyer miles program.

Aeon added 6.2 percent to ¥1,784, while Japan Airlines gained 4.3 percent to ¥265.

Elsewhere in the retail sector, department store operator Takashimaya (TYO: 8233) was 3.2 percent higher to ¥1,329 on better recommendations from Mizuho Securities and Nikko Citigroup.

Mizuho raised its recommendation from “reduce” to “hold”, while Nikko upped their rating on the retailer from “hold” to “buy”.

Elsewhere in the sector, Seven & I (TYO: 3382) was up 3.7 percent to ¥3,090 while supermarket chain Daiei (TYO: 8263; NAS: DAIEY) added 6.3 percent to ¥940.

Traders and commodities-related groups were higher after oil and metals prices rose overnight.

In the oil sector, Inpex (TYO: 1605) was up 3.4 percent to ¥1.21 million, while Nippon Mining (TYO: 5016) gained 2.1 percent to ¥1,177.

Among traders, Mitsubishi and Mitsui & Co. each added 1.4 percent, to ¥3,520 and ¥2,810 respectively.

Banks were lower, however. Mizuho (TYO: 8411; NYSE: MFG) was down 1.1 percent to ¥703,000 while Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (TYO: 8316) dropped 2.5 percent to ¥948,000.

Retail sectors advanced in Tokyo on Thursday after new gross domestic product figures showed that the Japanese economy grew at an annualized rate of 4.8 percent in the last quarter of 2006, above expectations of 3.8 percent growth for the quarter. It is widely expected that the Bank of Japan will use the new report as an excuse to hike interest rates when it next meets. The Nikkei 225 added 0.81 percent to 17,897.23, its highest close since May 2000. The Topix index gained 0.65 percent to 1,776.71.

Department stores and general retail both were helped by the new data. Among department stores, Marui added 7.28 percent to ¥1,533, while Mitsukoshi gained 7.75 percent to ¥584. Takashimaya was 10.03 percent higher to ¥1,690. Japan’s largest general retailer, Seven & I Holdings, was up 4.75 percent to ¥3,750.

The consumer finance sector, on the other hand, declined. Orient dropped 19.41 percent to ¥191 after it said it expects to incur losses for the current fiscal year. It blamed new, more stringent government rules on how much interest lenders can charger their customers for the anticipated narrowing of margins. Acom dropped 0.88 percent on the session, to ¥4,480.

With investors seeming to want to hold off on committing their money anywhere before the Bank of Japan makes its decision on interest rates Thursday, the Tokyo equities markets moved very little on Tuesday. The Nikkei 225 was unchanged at 17,202.46, while the Topix index was lower, but only by 0.1 percent to 1,703.54.

In the retail sector, department stores were lower on worries that early January sales will turn out to have been less than hoped. Mitsukoshi dropped 0.7 percent to ¥562, while Isetan fell 1.1 percent to ¥2,185. Takashimaya was 2.6 percent lower to ¥1,591 and Daimaru was down 2.7 percent to ¥1,507.

After an industry organization predicted double-digit growth for the 2007-2008 fiscal year, stocks related to the manufacture of computer chips saw gains. Tokyo Electron was 1.2 percent higher to ¥9,300, while Advantest gained 1.8 percent to ¥6,660.

The securities sector was still being helped by consolidation rumors. The sector as a whole added 0.5 percent, with Matsui Securities up 0.9 percent to ¥983 and Nikko Cordial added 2.1 percent to ¥1,337. Nikko Cordial, however, is still significantly lower than it was directly before an accounting scandal was revealed in December.

The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index both saw gains on Wednesday as export-focused stocks were up, but gains were limited by declines in utilities and in the consumer finance sector. The Nikkei added 0.3 percent to 16,692.93, while the Topix gained 0.2 percent to 1,639.19. Meanwhile, the Mothers index of small and mid-cap stocks dropped 1.1 percent to 1,125.85.

In the retail sector, department stores saw gains but weren’t able to lift the sector as a whole. Takashimaya was 1.1 percent higher to ¥1,717, while Isetan ended 1.6 percent higher to ¥2,150. On the other hand, Seven & I dropped 0.6 percent to ¥3,630.

Exporters that saw gains included Canon, which added 1.1 percent to ¥6,540. In the electronics sector, Sony was 1.9 percent higher to ¥4,880. Sharp, however, dropped 1.5 percent to ¥2,040 on the news that it is being investigated for price fixing of liquid crystal displays.

Utilities were down on profit-taking. Tokyo Electric Power fell 0.5 percent to ¥3,720, while Kansai Electric Power and Tohoku Electric Power each dropped 0.7 percent to ¥3,050 and ¥2,895 respectively.

The consumer finance sector declined after parliament passed a bill that will cut the maximum amount of interest the lenders can charger their customers. Takefuji was 1.1 percent lower to ¥4,470, while Aiful fell 1.6 percent to ¥3,610 and Credit Saison dropped 1.9 percent to ¥4,100.

The Tokyo equities markets were up strongly on Friday after Thursday’s gains on Wall Street in the wake of another hike in US interest rates by the Federal Reserve. The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index each added 2.5 percent on the day to 15,505.18 and 1,586.96 respectively. Export-focused stocks were helped by expectations of higher demand in the United States, while domestic stocks also saw advances.

In the electronics sector, Advantest and Tokyo Electron each added 2.8 percent, to ¥11,660 and ¥8,000 respectively..

Construction machinery maker Komatsu gained 3.4 percent to ¥2,340. Industrial robot maker Fanuc was up 3.2 percent to ¥10,280.

Automobile manufacturers also saw gains. Toyota advanced by 4.2 percent to ¥5,990, while Nissan added 5 percent to ¥1,250 after declines earlier in the week. Mazda also gained 5 percent, to ¥717.

The banking and real estate sectors were also up on Friday. Chiba Bank gained 4.5 percent to ¥1,070, while Bank of Yokohama was up 6.6 percent to ¥885 and Mitsui Trust added ¥1,375.

In real estate, Mitsui Fudosan advanced by 4 percent to ¥2,485, Tokyo Tatemono added 4.1 percent to ¥1,226, and Daiwa House gained 5.8 percent to ¥1,830.

Among the losers on the day was department store chain Takashimaya, which was down 0.6 percent to ¥1,436 after it said its first quarter earnings had been lower than had been expected.

With foreign buyers selling more than they bought for the fourth consecutive session, Tokyo equities markets declined on Tuesday even though news from the corporate world tended toward the positive. The Nikkei 225 dropped 0.4 percent to 15,859.45, while the Topix index was down 0.2 percent to 1,612.76.

The real estate sector was down on continuing worries that values are too high. Tokyo Tatemono declined by 2.7 percent to ¥1,162. Mitsubishi Estate dropped 1.5 percent to ¥2,245. Mitsui Fudosan and Tokyu Land, meanwhile, each lost 1 percent, to ¥2,360 and ¥857 respectively.

Retailers also lost ground on the day, declining by 1.3 percent as a whole. Among department stores, Takashimaya was down 1.3 percent to ¥1,521, Matsuzakaya dropped 1.8 percent to ¥856, and Matsuya lost 5.8 percent to ¥1,950. Seven & I, which holds convenience stores and restaurants along with departments stores, was down 1.5 percent to ¥4,010, while convenience store operator Lawson fell 1 percent to ¥4,110.

The electronics sector was mixed, with NEC up 1.2 percent to ¥696 after it said it would talk with Matsushita Electric about joining up to manufacture cell phones. Matsushita, however, dropped 0.2 percent to ¥2,490.

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.

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.