Real estate stocks continued their strong ascent on Tuesday, untroubled by sharp swings in other stocks caused by mixed earnings reports.

But falls in some technology and other shares following quarterly earnings helped push the Nikkei 225 down 0.2 per cent to 16,720.99. The Topix rose 0.1 per cent to 1,713.47, boosted by rises in steel stocks, which have a strong weighting in the index.