TOKYO -- Business sentiment among large Japanese companies in the April-to-June period fell to minus 47.6, the worst result in 11 years and pointing to intensifying pressure on an economy hit by the worldwide impact of the coronavirus on both manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors.
The confidence index covering companies capitalized at 1 billion yen ($9.3 million) or more sharply dropped from an already negative minus 10.1 in the previous survey for January to March, according to the joint survey by the Finance Ministry and Cabinet Office. The index has now registered negative growth for the past three quarters in a row.
