Japan big manufacturers' mood worsens in Q3: BOJ tankan

Confidence at big Japanese manufacturers worsened for the first time in three quarters in the three months to September and is seen declining further ahead, a closely watched central bank survey showed. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

OCT 1, 20158:10 AM

[TOKYO] Confidence at big Japanese manufacturers worsened for the first time in three quarters in the three months to September and is seen declining further ahead, a closely watched central bank survey showed.

The headline index for big manufacturers' sentiment fell 3 points from three months earlier to plus 12 in September, the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey showed on Thursday.

That compared with the median estimate of plus 13 in a Reuters poll of economists.

Big firms plan to raise capital expenditures by 10.9 per cent in the fiscal year that started April 1, compared with their previous plan to boost capital spending by 9.3 per cent.

The tankan's sentiment indexes are derived by subtracting the number of respondents who say conditions are poor from those who say they are good. A positive reading means optimists outnumber pessimists.

REUTERS