Business investment missed expectations last quarter as manufacturers cut back on spending, yet other sectors including miners splashed out more on plants and machinery in a positive sign for economic growth.

Investment rose 0.4 per cent in the March quarter to $29.81 billion, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Thursday.

That undershot forecasts for a 0.7 per cent gain, though largely because investment in the previous quarter was revised higher to show an increase of 0.2 per cent from a fall of 0.2 per cent.

Importantly, spending on equipment, plant and machinery climbed 2.5 per cent and should have added moderately to economic growth in the first quarter.

The miss on the headline number did little to move the Australian dollar, which at 1231 AEST was at 75.61 US cents, almost unchanged from levels ahead of the data release.