the increase of economic activity in the united states services sector slowed in march with the ism services purchasing managers index dropping from 551 to 512 falling short of estimates of 545 eight of the 10 subindices that constitute the overall index fell during the month the most significant drop was in new export orders which plummeted by 18 points from 617 in february to 436 in march entering contraction territory imports decreased considerably in the month falling 9 points from 526 to 436 putting them in the contraction zone as well the increase in subindices for inventories and inventory sentiment of 22 and 26 points respectively is indicative of a slowdown in demand the sp global us services pmi was revised down wednesday from an initial estimate of 538 to 526 in march read also labor market is cooling adp job growth misses expectations heres how fed rate bets and markets are reacting the rate of growth in the services sector has slowed owing primarily to a slowing in the rate of new orders growth a varying employment environment by industries and continued improvements in capacity and logistics said anthony nieves chair of the ism services business survey committee the majority of respondents are optimistic about business conditions he said the immediate market reactions following the disappointing ism services pmi release saw defensive sectors such as the spdr utilities select sector fund xlu rallying and cyclical sectors such as the spdr consumer discretionary select sector fund xly tumbling amid rising risks of an impending economic slowdown smallcap stocks as represented by the ishares russell 2000 etf iwm also underperformed the broader stock market as tracked by the spdr sp 500 trust etf spy was flat on the day the us dollar and us treasuries gained ground with the ishares 20 year treasury bond etf tlt up by 04 on the day read next bullions wall street boom technicals suggest alltime highs might be hit soon