South Korea's business sentiment slightly improved for June amid expectations that earnings in key sectors and domestic demand may improve, a central bank poll showed Wednesday.

Local companies' business sentiment index for June came to 76, up from 74 tallied for the previous month, according to the survey by the Bank of Korea.

The index measures corporate prospects for business conditions the following month. A reading below 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists.

The rise appears to be based on expectations that key manufacturing sectors' performance and private spending may improve down the road.

The BSI for manufacturers stood at 73 for June, up 1 point from the previous month. The index for nonmanufacturing firms was also up 2 points at 78 over the same period to 74, the data showed. (Yonhap)