The latest detailed sector PMI^TM data from Markit signalled that firms operating in non-bank financial services and producers of goods for which demand tends to be inelastic (i.e. typical defensive stocks) drove global economic growth in September.

Beverage producers topped the global sector rankings for the second time in three months. Aside from food and drink producers and pharmaceutical companies, service sectors related to finance, technology, healthcare and business-to-business services again dominated the top half of the growth table, in line with the trend shown throughout the third quarter as a whole.

Global Sector PMI: detailed sectors

Data at the broad level picked out financials as the fastest-growing area in September. Correspondingly, insurance and real estate both occupied podium positions at the detailed level, with other financials ranked ninth. Banking weighed on the broad finance sector, however, with only a modest rise in activity.

Global Financials PMI: constituent sectors

Three manufacturing sectors reported declining output in September. Metals & mining posted the sharpest rate of decline, extending the current downturn to eight months. Production in the autos & auto parts sector fell further, while paper & forest products registered a marginal contraction. Moreover, two further manufacturing sectors - general industrials and technology equipment - along with transportation, registered broadly no change in output.

The constituent consumer services sectors - media and tourism & recreation - moved in opposite directions in September. Media gained more places in the table than any other sector monitored, rising ten places to twelfth. Tourism & recreation meanwhile fell 12 places to seventeenth, more than any other sector.

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