In the Tokyo equities markets on Friday, the Nikkei 225 closed at another four-year record high, gaining 0.7 percent to 12,600.00, while the Topix index was up 0.4 percent to 1,282.79.

Real estate and retailing led the gains, with sector-wide gains of 1.2 and 1.3 percent respectively. Real estate was still benefiting from news that housing starts in Japan were at a seven-year high, while retailers saw gains due to announcements by individual companies.

In the real estate sector, developer Mitsui Fudosan gained 0.6 percent to ¥1,455, while Mitsubishi Estate was up 1.2 percent to ¥1,374.

In the retail sector, Seven & I Holdings, Asia’s largest retailer, announced that it will take full ownership of its US subsidiary 7-Eleven, gaining 4.8 percent to ¥3,520. In addition, supermarket chain operator Uny added 0.85 percent to ¥1,312 on the news that its annual net profit nearly tripled due in large part to debt forgiveness.

On the other hand, the banking sector fell by 0.7 percent on rumors that regulators want to make it simpler for the government to sell preferred shares in large banks for common stock.