Preliminary index of business activity in the manufacturing sector, published by Nikkei / Markit, was 51.1 points higher than the previous value of 50.4. This indicator shows the business optimism in the industrial sector of the Japanese economy and is calculated based on a survey of senior executives.

According to the Nikkei report the sector was the most active in 9 months. Production conditions in Japan continued to improve in October. The growth of production contributed to the increase in sales, which increased for the first time since January.

The data also indicate that the strong expansion of external demand led to an increase in the total volume of new orders, as new export grew at the fastest pace in nine months.