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The business survey index (BSI) of sentiment at large
manufacturers stood at plus 9.7, up from plus 9.4 in
July-September, according to the joint survey by the Ministry of
Finance and the Economic and Social Research Institute, an arm
of the Cabinet Office.
The mood was brightened by a weaker yen and a 12 percent jump in
the Nikkei <.225> stock average since the previous survey
period, while sales and profits were up led by auto
manufacturers and makers of electronic parts for smartphones.
The results come before the Bank of Japan's closely watched "tankan"
survey of corporate sentiment, due on Friday, which is expected
to show confidence among big manufacturers at its highest in
more than a decade.
The buoyant mood coincides with a record economic expansion:
gross domestic product climbed an annualized 2.5 percent in
July-September for the seventh straight quarter of growth, the
longest rising streak in data going back to 1994.
A big contributor to growth during the quarter was capital
spending.
Monday's survey shows that big manufacturers plan to raise
capital spending by 10.7 percent in the current half of the
fiscal year ending in March, up from their previous projection
of an 8.9 percent increase.
The BSI measures the percentage of firms that expect the
business environment to improve from the previous quarter minus
the percentage that expect it to decline.
(Reporting by Chris Gallagher; Editing by Eric Meijer)
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