Activity in U.S. financial sector rises at fastest pace in two years, industrials at 13-month high

Activity in financial sector rose at the fastest pace since August 2014, with basic materials, consumer goods and industrials all witnessing strong growth. However, healthcare returned to foot of sector rankings thanks to renewed fall in output.

Latest US Sector PMI data from Markit pointed to sharp upturns across a number of key sectors in November. The steepest of these came in financials, where output growth accelerated to a 27-month  high. Marked growth was also seen in basic materials, consumer goods and industrials. Healthcare was the only sector to buck the trend, with activity falling for the first time in three months.

Financials climbed two places to top the sector rankings during November. Both output and new business rose substantially. In a positive signal for the manufacturing industry, basic materials production rose to the greatest extent since March 2015. Notably, new export work increased at the sharpest rate in nearly two years.

Industrials also saw a strong expansion of output. In fact, growth was at a 13-month high, supported by a robust increase in new orders. However, consumer services and technology both reported slowdowns in activity growth. The performance of technology firms was especially disappointing following their strong showing in the prior month. Output had risen at the fastest pace in 19 months, but the latest increase was comparatively muted.

Meanwhile, healthcare was bottom-ranked in November, being the only sector to see falls in output, new orders and employment.