ASX 300 companies have posted stronger resilience than the broad economy in the first quarter of the year, with Finance, Business and Property all posting particularly stronger gains according to the NAB’s ASX 300 Quarterly Business Survey.

The survey found that business conditions for the top 300 companies were stable in March, in contrast to a broader contraction of – 7 points in the broader Quarterly Business Survey.

While business confidence across the economy has posted tentative signs of growth, it was the top 300 which took the lion’s share of the confidence hike, moving from -8 points to +4, with Manufacturing, the Finance, Business & Property Services sector and Mining being the main drivers of confidence.

Softness in the domestic economy was evident in deteriorating measures of sales margins, forward orders and stocks for the ASX 300 – with trends for the ASX 300 in line with the economy average.

ASX 300 capacity utilisation recovered in Q1 (after a dip in the December quarter). However there was a sharp fall in capital expenditure, with the ASX 300 in line with the broader economy at -3 points (down from +12 points in Q4 2012). Most sectors recorded declines, with Retail, the Transport, Utilities & Communications sector and Wholesale contributing the most to the declines.

The full report can be found here