Equities in New Zealand's NZX 50 fell 45 points, or 0.3%, to 13,149 in morning trade on Friday, halting gains from the previous two sessions and pulling back from their highest level since last December. The NZX 50 tracked a decline on Wall Street overnight as investors looked ahead to US Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech, amid continued selling of tech stocks. Caution emerged after hotter-than-expected US jobless claims data, despite markets pricing in a 73% chance of a September rate cut. Consumer discretionary led the drag on the index, followed by tech, healthcare, and materials. Among the biggest laggards were Gentrack Group (-1.7%), Fisher & Paykel (-1.1%), and Fletcher Building (-1.0%). By contrast, Fonterra jumped 4.2% after the company announced plans to sell its global consumer and associated businesses to French dairy major Lactalis for NZ$3.8 billion. For the week, the index is on track for a 2.1% surge, which would mark its third consecutive weekly gain.