Business sentiment among large Japanese companies fell to its lowest level in three years in the October-December quarter, hit by a slowdown in the Chinese economy and the consumption tax hike at home, a government survey showed Wednesday.

The confidence index covering firms capitalized at ¥1 billion ($9 million) or more stood at minus 6.2 in the fourth quarter of 2019, sharply down from 1.1 in the previous quarter, according to the joint survey by the Finance Ministry and Cabinet Office.

The index is calculated by subtracting the percentage of firms reporting worsening conditions from those observing improvements.