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.

The Tokyo equities markets declined on Monday, with the Nikkei 225 ending down by 0.6 percent to 17,456.58 and the Topix index closing at 1,777.34, 0.4 percent lower.

Domestic stocks fell victim to profit-taking. The real estate sector saw big losses as some analysts have begun to believe that shares in properties companies have become overvalued. Mitsui Fudosan and Mitsubishi Estate each lost 2 percent on the day, to ¥2,630 and ¥2,655 respectively.

Paper and pulp lost 1.4 percent as a sector. Oji Paper dropped 2.6 percent to ¥717, while Nippon Paper was down 1.3 per cent to ¥513,000.

Banks were mostly down, with the world’s biggest bank as determined by assets, Mitsubishi UFJ, losing 0.5 percent to ¥1,920,000

In the securities sector, one of the largest houses, Daiwa, declined by 1 percent to ¥1,599.

Companies that depend on exports were also down as investors worried about the possibility of interest rate hikes in the United States. In the electronics sector, Hitachi lost 1.1 percent to ¥876. Toshiba was down by the same percentage to ¥747.

Not all companies saw losses on the day, however. Upstream oil and gas company Inpex added 6 percent to ¥1,230,000 after it said it would invest in liquid natural gas facilities in Australia. In the restaurants sector, Yoshinoya D&C was up 2.9 percent to ¥215,000 on an upgraded earnings forecast for the 2006/2007 fiscal year.