Business sentiment among large companies in the October-December period rose for the second straight quarter, remaining positive after a plunge earlier this year due to the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, a government survey showed Thursday.
The confidence index covering firms capitalized at ¥1 billion or more stood at plus 11.6 in the fourth quarter of 2020, up from plus 2.0 in the July-September period, according to the joint survey by the Finance Ministry and Cabinet Office.
The latest figure hit the third-highest level since comparable data became available from the April-June quarter of 2004.