Business sentiment among major Japanese companies turned positive for the first time in two quarters in the July to September period, a government survey showed Thursday.
The business sentiment index for large companies stood at plus 4.7, up from minus 1.9 in April to June, according to the joint survey as of Aug. 15 by the Finance Ministry and the Cabinet Office.
The improvement came partly because manufacturers' sentiment turned positive for the first time in three quarters due to increased demand for semiconductor-related products. Sentiment among nonmanufacturers also bounced back, thanks to increases in the number of customers and per-customer spending in the services industry.
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