Japan manufacturers' mood steady in positive sign for BOJ tankan: Reuters Tankan

The latest Reuters Tankan poll shows confidence among Japanese manufacturers held firm in December and service-sector sentiment rose for a second straight month.

Kye points (source: Reuters)

• The sentiment index for manufacturers stood at 27, unchanged from November after hitting a decade-high of 31 in October, according to the survey conducted Nov. 21 to Dec. 4.
• The manufacturers’ index was up two points compared with three months ago.The index is expected to rise further to 28 in March.
• The service-sector index rose to 34 from 31 in November, which is encouraging, considering private consumption constitutes 60 percent of the economy. The index is expected to fall to 31 in March.