Business confidence at big Japanese manufacturers and services sector firms slid in April from the prior month, dragged down by cost-of-living pressures and shaky economic conditions in major market China, a Reuters monthly poll showed.

Japan’s exports grew more than expected in March, continuing strong growth momentum from the prior month and pushing the country into a trade surplus as demand in its biggest markets- the U.S. and China- remained strong.

Japan's exports grew for the fourth straight month in March driven by U.S.-bound car shipments, although business confidence at big firms soured amid a slump in the yen and signalled that a sure-footed economic recovery was some time away.

China's economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter, data showed on Tuesday, offering some relief to officials as they try to shore up growth in the face of protracted weakness in the property sector and mounting local government debt.

Production at U.S. factories increased solidly in March as output at motor vehicle assembly plants and elsewhere rose, suggesting that manufacturing was turning the corner after being constrained by higher borrowing costs.

The global economy is set for another year of slow but steady growth, the International Monetary Fund said on Tuesday, with U.S. strength pushing world output through headwinds from lingering high inflation, weak demand in China and Europe, and spillovers from two regional wars.