TOKYO (AFX-ASIA) - The Ministry of Finance said the third quarter diffusion index of leading companies' business sentiment stood at minus 17.5, compared with a revised minus 12.4 in the second quarter. Initially the second quarter diffusion index was reported as minus 12.1.
The ministry gave the following breakdown of third quarter indices, compared with the previous quarter:
Total - minus 17.5 vs revised minus 12.4
Manufacturers - minus 28.9 vs revised minus 20.4
Non-manufacturers - minus 10.1 vs revised minus 7.2

It also provided the following forecasts for the fourth and first quarters respectively:
Total - minus 9.3, minus 0.1
Manufacturers - minus 13.8, plus 1.6
Non-manufacturers - minus 6.2, minus 1.8

In June, the ministry made the following forecasts for the third and fourth quarters respectively:
Total - plus 0.2, plus 4.6
Manufacturers - plus 0.5, plus 6.2
Non-manufacturers - flat, plus 3.9