TOKYO (AFP) - Business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers hit a record low in the three months to March, as the global economic crisis deepened, the central bank said Wednesday.

Confidence tumbled to minus 58 in March from minus 24 the previous quarter, plunging below its previous record low of minus 57 registered in 1975, according to the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey of more than 10,000 firms.

Manufacturers painted a grim outlook for businesses, forecasting confidence would stay at minus 51 in June.

The index measures the percentage of firms that think business conditions are good minus those that think they are bad.

Major Japanese manufacturers expect a 62.7 percent drop in pre-tax profits in the financial year to March 31, forecasting a 19.7 percent slump for the current year starting on Wednesday, the survey showed.

Sales for the year to March are expected to have fallen 7.6 percent from the previous year, compared with a 0.9 percent gain projected earlier, according to the survey.

Large firms of all industries plan to trim their investment in new plants and equipment by 6.6 percent on average for the current fiscal year, in contrast to sharp gains in corporate capital spending seen in recent years.