Big manufacturers39; sentiment index at 9 vs previous 5
Nonmanufacturers39; index at 27 vs previous 23
Firms retain robust capex plan, see tight job market
Firms39; inflation expectations roughly unchanged from June

TOKYO, Oct 2 Reuters Japan39;s business sentiment improved in the third quarter, a central bank survey showed, suggesting conditions for a durable economic revival are falling into place even as a global slowdown keeps policymakers cautious about the outlook.

Big nonmanufacturers39; mood brightened to levels unseen since 1991, when Japan was experiencing an assetinflation bubble, a sign retailers were benefitting from a rebound in consumption after the dismantling of pandemic curbs.

Companies also retained their robust spending plans and faced a tight labour market, the survey showed, suggesting that conditions for the Bank of Japan to phase out its massive stimulus could fall into place.

The headline big manufacturers39; confidence index rose to 9 in September from 5 in June, the BOJ39;s closelywatched tankan survey showed, exceeding market forecasts for a reading of 6 and marking the second straight quarter of improvement.

Big nonmanufacturers39; index stood at 27, up from 23, the survey showed, above a median market forecast of 24 and improving for the sixth straight quarter. It was highest reading since November 1991.

The strongerthanexpected improvement in the latest tankan survey suggests that the economy will continue to expand at an…