KUALA LUMPUR, Aug. 27 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's businesses expect conditions to improve in the third quarter of 2026, with the overall confidence indicator rebounding to +5.9 percent from -1.8 percent in the second quarter, an official survey showed on Thursday.
All major sectors expect more favorable business conditions in the third quarter, with industry, services, construction, and wholesale and retail trade recording positive sentiment, the Department of Statistics Malaysia said in a statement.
The broad-based improvement in sentiment reflects growing confidence in both domestic and external economic activity.
The industry sector recorded the strongest turnaround, with its confidence indicator rising to +8.2 percent in the third quarter from -3.7 percent in the previous quarter.
Sentiment in the construction sector also improved sharply, with the indicator climbing to +4.1 percent from -9.5 percent in the second quarter.
Meanwhile, the wholesale and retail trade sector returned to positive territory, with its confidence indicator rising to +1.2 percent from -7.5 percent previously.
The services sector remained optimistic, although its confidence indicator eased slightly to +5.2 percent from +6.2 percent in the preceding quarter. ■