Elsewhere in the energy sector, Genesis decreased 7c or 2.83% to $2.40 and Vector shed 9c or 1.91% to $4.62.<\/p>\n
Shane Solly, portfolio manager with Harbour Asset Management, said investors were selling other stocks to recycle into Contact and Meridian.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis put large caps such as Fisher & Paykel [down 17c to $48.61] and Auckland International Airport [down 10c to $8.17] under pressure, with rotation going on.<\/p>\n
\u201cFisher & Paykel<\/a> was a bit of a surprise as healthcare was the best sector overnight on the US market \u2013 the sector is now at an all-time high,\u201d Solly said.<\/p>\n The BNZ-BusinessNZ Performance of Manufacturing Index increased 3.2 points to 56.5 in September, up from 53.3 in the previous month \u2013 the 15th consecutive month of expansion and well above the long-term average of 52.5.<\/p>\n Employment also picked up, now back in expansion at 51.8, which is an encouraging sign that firms are perhaps starting to feel more confident about adding staff, BusinessNZ said.<\/p>\n Solly said the manufacturing industry is showing good signs of life and a part of the economy is firing.<\/p>\n \u201cDomestic consumption is still flat, with consumers feeling cautious and wary of the rising cost of living. Retail card spending was down 0.4% in September, but food prices were unchanged and up 2.4% for the year.\u201d<\/p>\n Solly said the improving economic data was helping the beaten-down cyclical stocks.<\/p>\n Mainfreight was up a further 98c to $68.38; Summerset gained 15c or 2.22% to $6.90; and Ryman Healthcare<\/a> added 4c or 2.23% to $1.83.<\/p>\n In the United States, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped to a one-month high after gaining 1.08% to 52,177.69 as investors moved into blue-chip financial, healthcare and consumer stocks.<\/p>\n The US 10 Year Treasury Note yield was down to 5.09% despite a second straight hotter-than-expected US inflation report.<\/p>\n The September producer price index rose 1.3% month-on-month, against a forecast of 0.5%, and 6.3% year-on-year. It was the biggest monthly increase in four and a half years.<\/p>\n The oil price remained elevated at US$105.40 ($186.53) a barrel, with the International Energy Agency announcing an immediate release of 100 million barrels from emergency reserves, providing a potential offset to supply concerns.<\/p>\n Asian-Pacific markets went the opposite direction to New Zealand, with the Japanese Nikkei 225 up 1.8%, the South Korean Kospi increasing 3.61% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng gaining 1.21% at 5.45pm NZ time.<\/p>\n Across the Tasman, the S&P\/ASX 200 Index was up 1.1% to 8815.2 points.<\/p>\n