Global services slowed by a point on June's PMI to a still respectable 53.1 which, outside of May's 54.0, is the best score since the middle of last year. Services continue to be the mainstay of economic strength in most economies.

Yet moderation is June's theme: new orders down 0.8 points to 52.4, new export business down 4 tenths to 50.6, and business activity (output) down 9 tenths to 53.1. Expectations of future activity is down 1.1 points to 63.1 but this reading is still upbeat and the sample is not slowing workforce expansion, up 4 tenths to 51.5. Price data show moderation in input costs to a still elevated 56.7 and cooling in selling prices to 53.0.

Combined with Monday's manufacturing PMI that eased a tenth to 50.9, the global composite came in at 52.9 versus May's 53.7. Country data for services are not provided.

JP Morgan Global Services PMI gives an overview of the global services sector. It is based on monthly surveys of over 5,500 executives from 15 of the world’s strongest economies, including the U.S., Japan, Germany, France and China which together account for nearly 80 percent of global services sector’s gross value added (GWA). It reflects changes in global output, employment, new business, backlogs and prices. The Global Services PMI is seasonally adjusted at the national level to control for varying seasonal patterns in each country and is produced by J.P. Morgan and Markit in association with ISM and the International Federation of Purchasing and supply Management (IFPSM).

Investors need to keep their fingers on the pulse of the economy because it dictates how various types of investments will perform. The J.P. Morgan Global Services PMI provides advance insight into the global services sector, which gives investors a better understanding of business conditions and valuable information about the economic backdrop of global markets. The stock market likes to see healthy economic growth because that translates to higher corporate profits. The bond market prefers less rapid growth and is extremely sensitive to whether the economy is growing too quickly and causing potential inflationary pressures. The PMI data are also used by many Central Banks to help make interest rate decisions.

The JP Morgan Global Services PMI data give a detailed look at the manufacturing sector, how busy it is and where things are headed. Since the services sector accounts for the lion’s share of GDP of many advanced economies, this report has a big influence on the markets. In addition, its sub-indexes provide a picture of global output, employment, new business, backlogs and prices.