URGENT: Big Japanese manufacturers’ sentiment improves to 5 in June from 1

Business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers improved to 5 in June from 1 three months earlier, the Bank of Japan said Monday.

The reading of the key index measuring confidence among companies such as those in the auto and electronics sectors improved for the first time in seven quarters. The average market forecast was for 3 in a Kyodo News survey.

The index for large nonmanufacturers, including the service sector, rose to 23 from 20 in the previous survey in March.