Business sentiment at large companies improved in the first quarter of 2013 thanks to a weaker yen and higher stock prices, but most remain wary of increasing capital expenditures, the government said Tuesday.
The confidence index covering firms capitalized at ¥1 billion or more came to 1.0 in the January-March quarter, up from minus 5.5 in the October-December period and the first improvement in two quarters, a joint survey by the Finance Ministry and the Cabinet Office said.
The index is calculated by subtracting the percentage of companies reporting deteriorating business conditions from those observing improvements.