Japan: Economic sentiment measured by the Economy Watchers Survey to improve - Nomura

The research team at Nomura expects Japanese economic sentiment as measured by the Economy Watchers Survey to improve in May. 

Key Quotes

“Statistics closely linked to the Economy Watchers Survey suggest a weakening in sentiment; this includes a month-over-month drop in the May Japanese manufacturing PMI, with the survey of manufacturers' production forecasts also pointing to a month-over-month decline in May. That said, the Nikkei 225 has registered a clear uptick from the low-to-mid 19,000 range at end-April, and the USD/JPY rate and crude oil prices have not moved substantially from the levels seen at end-April, so there is no real evidence to suggest a rise in cost concerns by those companies covered by the survey.”

“We assume that economic sentiment in the May Economy Watchers Survey improved versus April as sentiment within the survey has recently been strongly correlated with the above-mentioned data and a good deal of emphasis has been placed on rises in share prices.”