The NZX 50 fell 47 points or 0.3% to 13,524 in early trade on Friday, following a muted close the day before, led by non-energy minerals, retail trade, and financials. Sentiment weakened after Wall Street ended mostly lower Thursday, as traders weighed comments from Fed officials on the rate outlook and the start of the U.S. earnings season. Locally, business activity in New Zealand remained sluggish in September, staying slightly below the 50 mark for the second month. Investors also turned cautious ahead of next week’s September food inflation data, after August’s figure held at its highest since November 2025. Still, losses were capped by the RBNZ’s dovish policy stance to support growth and bets of further U.S. rate cuts amid a cooling labor market and easing inflation risks. Major laggards included Winton Land (-3.8%), Briscoe Group (-3.2%), Tourism Hlds. (-3.0%), and Fletcher Building (-2.4%). For the week, markets are set to end on a subdued note after last week’s strong rally.