The Australian and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) revealed Wednesday its business confidence index in New Zealand jumped to -28.5 in September from -41.8 in August. This was the highest reading since February, but slightly lower than the preliminary estimate of -26.0, which was reported earlier this month.

According to the report, most major sub-indices have lifted since August. The Activity Outlook increased to -5.4 in September from -17.5 in August, while Export Intentions rose to -4.7 from -20.0, Investment Intentions grew to 0.3 from -15.2, Employment Intentions improved to -11.8 from -23.6 and Profit Expectations went up to -24.4 from -33.4. Sector-wise, agriculture and construction were the most optimistic sectors, while services and retail the least.