The NZX 50 dropped 49 points, or 0.4%, to 13,371 in morning trade on Monday, extending losses from the previous session, mainly weighed down by consumer staples, financials, and healthcare. Traders were cautious ahead of the RBNZ monetary policy decision later this week. The market expects the central bank to cut the interest rate by 25 bps to 2.25%, which would be the lowest since June 2022, amid a high unemployment rate and GDP contraction. Investors also anticipated the release of a slew of economic data, including retail sales, business confidence, as well as consumer sentiment, later this week. However, an upbeat session on Wall Street Friday capped the fall amid hopes of a Fed interest rate cut in the December meeting. Among early losers were A2 Milk (-1.7%), Mainfreight (-1.3%), Contact Energy (-1.0%), Infratil (-0.9%), and Fisher & Paykel (-0.5%). Meanwhile, Kiwi Property dropped 0.5% after reporting a 77% yoy plunge in net profit for the six months ended September.