"Companies have slowed their business spending and will likely continue to do so in the coming months"
- Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief economist at Itochu Corp. (8001)
Capital spending by Japanese companies rose less than expected in the second quarter, Ministry of Finance said on Monday. Japanese capital spending jumped to an annual rate of 7.70%, from 3.30% in the previous quarter. Experts had predicted Japanese capital spending to rise to 8.90% in the last quarter.
"Today's capital spending figures look weaker than the business spending number in the preliminary GDP report," said Yoshimasa Maruyama, chief economist at Itochu Corp. (8001) in Tokyo.
"Companies have slowed their business spending and will likely continue to do so in the coming months."
The Nikkei 225 Stock Average declined 0.10 per cent, or 8.38 points, to 8,775.51. The broader Topix Index erased 0.27 per cent, or 1.94, to 726.69.
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