(Repeats to additional alert)

TOKYO, Oct 3 (Reuters) - Confidence at big Japanese manufacturers held steady in September from three months earlier, a closely watched central bank survey showed on Monday, as the economy is slow to recover amid a strong yen and sluggish demand at home and overseas.

The headline index for big manufacturers' sentiment stood at plus 6 in September and is expected to remain unchanged over the next three months, the Bank of Japan's quarterly "tankan" survey showed.

The reading matched the previous survey in June and compared with the median estimate of plus 7 in a Reuters poll of economists.

The tankan's sentiment indexes are derived by subtracting the number of respondents who say conditions are poor from those who say they are good. A positive reading means optimists outnumber pessimists.

(Reporting by Leika Kihara and Tetsushi Kajimoto; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim)