Tokyo markets mixed on session

Tokyo’s equities markets were mixed on Thursday as the Nikkei 225 was down 1.13 percent to 13,943,26, its biggest one-day decline in nearly a month.

The Topix index was also lower, falling 1.46 percent to 1,372.95, but the Mothers market of small and mid-caps jumped 5.19 percent to 659.09.

Banks were lower after the announcement of new investment bank reporting requirements in the US which are expected to reveal more losses related to the credit crisis, while tire makers and utilities both declined on the rising price of oil and the real estate sector saw losses on a broker downgrade within the sector.

Internet-related shares, however, saw gains on the session.

Results were mixed elsewhere in the Asia-Pacific region.

Australian markets were higher, with the Sydney Ordinaries adding 0.75 percent to 5,800.9 and the S&P/ASX200 was up 0.97 percent to 5,723.2 while in China the Shanghai Composite was 2.17 percent higher to 3,656.84.

In South Korea, the Kospi index was down 0.32 percent to 1,848 while the Hang Seng was 0.63 percent lower to 25,449.79 in Hong Kong, Taiwan’s Taiex fell 0.67 percent to 8,866.62, India’s Sensex declined 1.49 percent to 17,080.65, and the Straits Times Index dropped 1.77 percent to 3,171.88 in Singapore.

Europe’s markets were mostly lower after the European Central Bank held interest rates steady at 4 percent and the Bank‘s president made comments about high inflation and concerns about growth that made it sound like rates wouldn‘t be going lower in the near term.

The FTSE Eurofirst 300 down 0.2 percent to 1,359.37 as the Dax fell 0.06 percent to 7,071.9 and the CAC-40 dropped 0.39 percent to 5,055.58.

Madrid’s IBEX, however, added 0.34 percent to 14,074.

Banks were lower on the session, as were airlines, utilities, and the aerospace sector, while carmakers were mixed and the steel and telecommunications sectors saw gains.

London’s markets were higher as the FTSE 100 added 0.16 percent to 6,270.8 and the FTSE 250 gained 0.97 percent to 10,549.8.

Most real estate developers and miners saw gains and the retail sector was up with the sole exception of Carphone Warehouse (LSE: CPW), which was down almost 3.5 percent and led losers on the 100 on the news that it will enter a joint venture with US electronics retailer Best Buy (NYSE: BBY).

Utilities, insurers, and the energy sector were all mixed while banks saw declines on the day.

Wall Street was higher in early afternoon trade, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.33 percent to 12,856.28 while the Nasdaq Composite added 0.41 percent to 2,448.6 and the S&P 500 gained 0.17 percent to 1,394.96.

Airlines were mostly higher on a slight decline in oil prices, but the retail sector was mixed.

Department stores and discount stores were mostly lower as most department stores saw declines in same-store sales in April and sales numbers for discount retailers were mixed.

On the other hand, retailers which cater to teens gained on better-than-anticipated sales last month, including Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), which reported that same-store sales were up by 25 percent.