Tokyo - The Tokyo stock market was higher in early trading Wednes

Tokyo - Optimism in Japan's industry is at its lowest point in five years, a quarterly survey by the country's central bank said Wednesday.

For the first time since 2003, the Bank of Japan's Tankan index, a a business sentiment survey of 10,000 companies, turned negative in the July-September quarter.

The index slipped from plus 5 in the previous quarter to minus 3, indicating that pessimists have the upper hand as the global downturn threatens Japan's export markets and the country's economy hovers on the brink of recession.

Tokyo- Japanese stocks tumbled more than 4 per cent Tuesday to a three-year low, leading an Asia-Pacific sell-off in reaction to Wall Street's historic plunge.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 Stock Average fell 483.75 points, or 4.12 per cent, to close at 11,259.86.

The broader Topix index of all first-section issues fell 40.46 points, or 3.59 per cent, to 1,087.41.

Tokyo - Japan's industrial output in August logged a 3.5-per cent fall, the first in two months, the government said Tuesday.

It is the sharpest fall since the index logged a 4.3-per-cent decline in January 2001 under the current statistical format, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry said in a preliminary report.

The fall was significantly lower than predicted by analysts, who expected a 2.4-per-cent decline and also lower than a
1.3-per-cent rise in July.

Tokyo - T

Tokyo - The Tokyo stock market fell sharply in early trading