Business sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers fell into negative territory in March for the first time in seven years, weighed down by fears about the global economic fallout from the coronavirus crisis, the Bank of Japan's tankan survey showed Wednesday.

The key index measuring confidence among companies such as automobile and electronics makers fell to minus 8 from zero, down for the fifth straight quarter. The result compared with the average market forecast of minus 10 in a Kyodo News poll.

The index for large nonmanufacturers including the service sector dropped to 8 from 20 in the December survey, marking the third straight quarter of deterioration. Nonetheless, the figure was above the market consensus of 4.