Japan big manufacturers' mood hits near 3-year low: BOJ tankan

[TOKYO] Confidence at big Japanese manufacturers has worsened to its lowest level in nearly three years, the central bank's "tankan" survey showed on Monday, in a sign the US-China trade war and global slowdown were hurting Japan's export-reliant economy.

The headline index for big manufacturers' sentiment stood at plus 7 in June, versus plus 12 in March, the closely watched quarterly survey by the Bank of Japan showed. The median estimate of economists was for plus 9 in a Reuters poll.

It was the lowest reading since September 2016 when it was at plus six.

The index is seen holding steady at plus 7 over the next three months.

The survey also showed big firms plan to raise their capital expenditure by 7.4 per cent in the financial year to March 2020, versus economists' median estimate of an 8.9 per cent increase.

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