TORONTO (Reuters) - "Nowhere to run to, baby, nowhere to hide," Martha and Vandellas sang in their 1965 Motown megahit. It's a tune that Bay Street investors can probably relate to, faced with a market that seems to be sliding across the board.

Almost everyone in global equity markets has felt the pain, led by a teetering financial sector and cooling commodities. But even the so-called defensive issues are nowhere to hide these days.

The classic defensive stocks are those whose performance is not usually pushed or pulled wildly by economic cycles — including utilities, consumer staples and a smattering of healthcare issues. They can traditionally protect portfolios from losses during downturns.

But this time around, even those sectors have come under pressure.

While the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down almost 15 percent in the third quarter, which ended on September 30, the utilities sector was down 16.3 percent. The consumer staples group, one of the only bright stars during that period, was off only 5.4 percent.

Even gold, the safest of all the safe haven investments provided no safety net. During the three months the TSX global gold index, which contains some of the biggest producers in the world, dropped 17.4 percent.

"There really is no place to hide in these markets. But you can't avoid the markets, you have to participate somehow," said Rick Hutcheon, president and chief operating officer at RKH Investments.

"The only thing you can do in times like this is to go after companies that have unassailable niches in their markets." These, Hutcheon notes, are companies that have good balance sheets, reasonable income statement prospects and steady payouts.