Tokyo

JAPAN'S core machinery orders unexpectedly rose in April at the fastest pace in four months, in a sign companies are turning more optimistic about business investment as domestic demand strengthens.

The 3.8 per cent month-on-month rise in core orders, a highly volatile data series seen as an indicator of capital spending in the coming six to nine months, compares with the median estimate of a 2 per cent annual decline and follows a 2.9 per cent increase in March.