Sentiment among Japan's big manufacturers held steady in the first quarter but is expected to worsen in the current quarter, the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey showed on Wednesday.
The headline big manufacturers index remained unchanged from the previous quarter at +12, below expectations for a reading of +14 in a Reuters poll.
Looking ahead, the second-quarter outlook for big manufacturers came in at +10, below expectations for a reading of +16.
Sentiment among big non-manufacturers rose to +19 from +16 in the previous quarter, above expectations of +17. That marked the second straight quarter of improvement.
Japan is still recovering after a three-percentage-point consumption tax hike to 8% last April tipped the economy into a technical recession. While the economy escaped the recession in the final quarter of last year many remain skeptical on the governments ongoing efforts to spur the economy.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Japan's 2% inflation target is increasingly further away, raising expectations that it will have to undertake further stimulus measure to achieve the goals it set out nearly two years ago.
Related Stories
