Business confidence at large companies rose in the July-September period for the second straight quarterly improvement, reflecting the economic recovery and the completion of inventory adjustments in the information technology sector, the government said Monday.

The index of business conditions at companies capitalized at 1 billion yen or more came to 9.7 on an all-industry basis, up from 0.9 for the April-June quarter, the Cabinet Office and the Finance Ministry said in a joint quarterly survey.

The latest reading is the highest on record under the current joint format, surveys for which began in the April-June period of 2004.

The index is compiled by subtracting the percentage of companies reporting deteriorating business conditions from that of those reporting improvement.

According to the survey, the index for large manufacturers came to 6.4, a turnaround from minus 2.4.

The index for large manufacturers of general machinery jumped to 20.2 in the reporting quarter from minus 3.3 in the April-June period.

All 34 industries covered by the poll showed an improvement in business confidence.

The index for large manufacturers of information and telecommunications equipment surged to 22.0 from 4.7 in the previous quarter.

"The survey confirmed a continued recovery trend in business sentiment among corporations that has been indicated by a string of other economic data," a government official said.

The index for major nonmanufacturers climbed to 11.6 from the previous quarter's 2.9.

On an all-industry basis, the business confidence index for midsize companies -- capitalized at 100 million yen or more but less than 1 billion yen -- improved to 5.5 for the July-September period from minus 5.0, up for the second consecutive quarter.

The index for small companies -- capitalized at 10 million yen or more but less than 100 million yen -- remained in the negative column, registering minus 15.1. But that was an improvement from the minus 21.4 it showed in the April-June quarter.