Nikkei, Topix slightly higher

The Tokyo equities markets were a bit higher on Monday as good performance in the real estate sector outweighed fears in the consumer finance sector that new, more stringent rules may be imposed on such lenders. The Nikkei 225 and the Topix index each added 0.2 percent to 15,152.40 and 1,548.97 respectively. The only exception was the Mothers index of small and mid-cap stocks, which dropped 1.7 percent to 1,419.20.

The news that European steel company Arcelor has agreed to a revised bid from Mittal Steel helped the iron and steel sector was up 1.6 as a whole. JFE was up 1.3 percent to ¥4,580, while Nippon Steel gained 1.7 percent to ¥417 and Kobe Steel added 2.7 percent to ¥340.

The real estate sector gained 1.8 percent overall as it continued to benefit from higher commercial property rents in the cities. Mitsui Fudosan was up 1.9 percent to ¥2,400. Mitsubishi Estate and Tokyo Tatemono each added 2.8 percent, to ¥2,365 and ¥1,162, while Sumitomo Realty and Development advanced by 3 percent to ¥2,750 and NTT Urban Development gained 4.3 percent to ¥857,000.

Consumer finance companies saw losses on the day on reports that government regulators are considering strict rules to help borrowers avoid taking on more debt than they can afford. Acom dropped 1.4 percent to ¥6,170, Promise declined by 1.8 percent to ¥6,430, and Aiful was down by 1.8 percent to ¥5,770.

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