Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 was slightly lower on Friday, falling 0.03 percent to 16,979.86.

The Topix index managed a gain of 0.19 percent to 1,672.54, however, and the Mothers market was 0.53 percent higher to 834.57.

The real estate sector was higher after a report that prices for apartments in the Minato ward in central Tokyo doubled in the past year.

Tokyu Land (TYO: 8815) was up 2.24 percent to ¥1,235, while Sumitomo Realty & Development (TYO: 8830) added 4.74 percent to ¥3,760 after Sumitomo reported that its operating profit in the most recent quarter was up 50 percent.

Some exporters were also higher as carmaker Toyota Motor (TYO: 7203.T; NYSE: TM; LSE: TYT) gained 0.14 percent to ¥7,080, while in the electronics sector Sony (TYO: TYO: 6758; NYSE: SNE) was 0.99 percent higher to ¥6,110.

Fast Retailing (TYO: 9983) fell 1.5 percent to ¥6,720 on its report that its Uniqlo clothing line dropped 11.7 percent in like-for-like sales in July, which it blamed on bad weather.

Also lower was Ashai Breweries (TYO: 2502), which was down 2 percent to ¥1,676 after it said that operating profit in the most recent quarter dropped by 19 percent.

In Tokyo on Thursday the Nikkei 225 was 0.67 percent higher to 16,984.11 and the Topix index gained 0.03 percent to 1,669.33, but the Mothers market fell 0.21 percent to 830.18.

Gains were helped by a new report from Japan’s National Tax Agency which showed that land prices in the country were 8.6 percent higher last year, with a gain of 17 percent in Tokyo.

The report sent the real estate sector higher. Mitsui Fudosan (TYO: 8801; NAS: MDSFF) added 4.2 percent to ¥3,230, while Mitsubishi Estate (TYO: 8802) gained 6.3 percent to ¥3,200 and Tokyu Land (TYO: 8815) was up 7.9 percent to ¥1,208.

In addition, homebuilder Daiwa House Industry Co (TYO: 1925) was 4 percent higher to ¥1,570.

The retail sector also saw gains, with Fast Retailing (TYO: 9983) adding 4.8 percent to ¥6,820 on a successful bid for the Barneys New York chain of department stores, owned by Jones Apparel Group (NYSE: JNY).

Drug maker Chugai Pharmaceutical (TYO: 4519) gained 2.7 percent to ¥2,075 on an increased full-year projecting, while Astellas Pharma (TYO: 4503) was 3.1 percent higher to ¥5,050 on a fiscal first quarter net income gain of 52 percent.

In the electronics sector Pioneer (TYO: 6773) dropped 4.5 percent to ¥1,546 on a decline of 40 percent in sales of plasma televisions in the quarter, while Casio (TYO: 6952) fell 4.6 percent to ¥1,699 after it said quarterly operating profit was down 78 percent in the most recent quarter on poor sales of mobile phones.

Banks also saw declines, with Resona (TYO: 8308) down 3.3 percent to ¥238,000 and Mizuho (TYO: 8411) dropping 4.7 percent to ¥730,000.

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.

In Tokyo on Thursday, the Nikkei closed above the 17,000 level for the first time in over five years, ending the session up 0.6 percent to 17,045.34. The Topix index was up as well, by 0.9 percent to 1,726.68. Banking and export companies accounted for most of the upward movement.

Real estate saw gains on the day, with the sector as a whole adding 1.8 percent. Mitsui Fudosan and Mitsubishi Estate each were up by 1.5 percent, to ¥2,675 and ¥2,755 respectively. Tokyu Land gained 2.3 percent to ¥1,046.

Banks were up 3 percent as a sector on higher profits estimates for the 2005-2006 and the 2006-2007 fiscal years for eight large banks by Goldman Sachs. Mitsubishi UFJ, the world’s largest bank when ranked by assets, added 4.1 percent to ¥1,780,000. Mizuho, meanwhile, gained 2.4 percent to ¥955,000.

Among export-dependent sectors, transport equipment was up 1.1 percent. Toyota advanced by 1.3 percent to ¥6,470 and Nissan was up 0.7 percent to ¥1,401.

Electrical machinery also gained on the day. Sony added 1.5 percent to ¥5,450, while Hitachi gained 1.4 percent to ¥822.

Equity markets in Tokyo were up on Wednesday as the yen weakened but confidence in Japan’s economic recovery strengthened. The Nikkei 225 closed out the day up by 1.5 percent to 16,938.41, its highest ending level in five years, while the Topix index added 1.1 percent to end the session at 1,711.54.

The real estate sector was up again, with Tokyu Land and Mitsubishi Estate each gaining 1.7 percent, to ¥1,022 and ¥2,715 respectively, while NTT Urban Development added 2 percent to ¥983,000. A national land price survey showed that prices have risen in Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya for the first time in 15 years.

Banking was also up on the day, by 1.3 percent as a sector. Mitsubishi UFJ added 1.8 percent to ¥1,171,000.

An increase in the price of crude oil sent shares in upstream oil companies up. AOC added 5.1 percent to ¥2,165, while Japan Petroleum Exploration gained 4.2 percent to ¥7,240.

Export-dependent companies benefited from the rise in the value of the dollar after the US Federal Reserve again raised interest rates. NEC added 2.6 percent to ¥776, while Matsushita Electrical, which makes the Panasonic brand, gained 2.3 percent to ¥2,635. Toshiba advanced by 2 percent to ¥672. Sony was up 1.9 percent to ¥5,370.

The Tokyo equities markets were down on Tuesday as domestically-oriented stocks could not sustain the gains they achieved on Monday. The Nikkei 225 ended the day down by 0.8 percent to 16,238.36, while the Topix index dropped 0.5 percent to 1,665.79.

Retail was down 0.6 percent in the sector with Seven & I down 1.3 percent to ¥4,460. In transport, East Japan Railway also lost 1.3 percent on the day to ¥861,000. The securities sector also dropped, by 0.7 percent, with Nomura down to ¥2,350.

Real estate managed slight gains, with Tokyu Land gaining 1.2 percent to ¥1,081.

Export-reliant sectors were damaged by the yen’s climb in relation to the US dollar. Electrical machinery was down 0.8 as a sector, with Elpida Memory falling 3.1 percent to ¥4,100 and Hitachi declining 0.9 percent to ¥805. Elsewhere, Toyota was down 0.3 percent to ¥6,320.

Chugai Pharmaceutical dropped 3.5 percent to ¥2,195 on a downgrade from “neutral” to “sell” from Merrill Lynch, which cited a probable drop in sales of, Epogin, an anti-anemia drug.

Rising crude oil prices helped upstream oil companies, with Japan Petroleum up 1.6 percent to ¥6,830 and Inpex up to ¥1,050,000.

Tokyo’s equities markets were up on Monday as optimism about the economy sent shares in both export-dependent and domestic sectors higher on the day. The Nikkei 225 closed at 16,391.51, 1.5 percent higher and its highest close in over a month. The Topix index gained 1.7 percent to close at 1.674.66.

Among domestics, the banking sector was up 1.5 percent on the day, while real estate gained 2.2 percent, securities were up 2.5 percent, and retailers grew by 1.7 percent as a whole. Land transport was up 2.5 percent.

Within export-heavy sectors, automible manufacturing was up, including a 1.4 percent jump to ¥7,150 for Honda. Electrical machinery also gained, with Sony gaining 1.1 percent to ¥5,580.

East Japan Railway, Japan’s largest railroad operator, was up 4.1 percent to ¥872,000.

In the real estate sector, Mitsui Fudosan gained 1.7 percent to ¥2,640, while Tokyu Land was up 4.8 percent to ¥1,068.

Among banks, Mitsubishi UFJ, gained 2.4 percent to ¥1,730,000, while SMFG rose by 1.6 percent to ¥1,290,000. In the securities sector Nomura, Japan’s largest house, advanced by 2.6 percent to ¥2,380.

The retail sector was mixed on the day, with department store chain Mitsukoshi up 2.8 percent to ¥690 but convenience store operator Lawson down 0.9 percent to ¥4,470 on profit taking.

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.

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 Friday, the equities markets were down on declines in domestic stocks, including the real estate sector, which fell as foreign investors continued to pull out of the Japanese market.

The Nikkei 225 was down 2.1 percent on the day to 15,713.45, a three-week low, and the Topix index dropped 1.6 percent to 1,605.33.

Real estate was down 5.4 percent as a sector on Friday on the heels of a 2.6 percent drop on Thursday. Mitsui Fudosan and Mitsubishi Estate each lost 5.1 percent on the day, to ¥2,240 and ¥2.325 respectively. Tokyu Land was down 7.2 percent to ¥1,008.

Warehouse and wharf stocks were also down on the day, with Mitsubishi Logistics declining by 2.4 percent to ¥1,765.

Most other domestic stocks were also down; banking lost 1.7 percent.

Also down was Sony, which dropped 2.8 percent to ¥5,500 on a downgrade from “neutral” to “sell” from Merrill Lynch, which said the electronics and entertainment company was overvalued.

On the other hand, transport equipment sector gained 0.6 percent. Carmakers, and at least some high-tech companies saw gains on the day.

Sharp was up 1 percent to ¥2,035 as Merrill Lynch upgraded the high-tech manufacturer from “neutral” to “buy” due to what it called Sharp’s greater competitiveness in LCD televisions.

In the automobile sector, Toyota was up 1.6 percent to ¥6,420, while Honda advanced by 0.9 percent to ¥6,890.