The NZX 50 slipped 21 points or 0.2% to 13,585 in early trade on Wednesday, retreating for the first time in nine sessions and pulling back from a record high. Sentiment was weighed by a weak lead from Wall Street overnight amid growing concerns over stretched valuations. Locally, data showed New Zealand’s jobless rate rose to 5.3% in Q3, the highest since late 2016, while labor force participation fell to 70.3%, the lowest in nearly five years. Traders booked profits across healthcare, industrial services, and utilities ahead of China’s October trade data later this week. Rua Bioscience fell about 3% to a three-month low after announcing a discounted capital raise. Other notable decliners included Winton Land (-4.0%), Summerset Group (-1.9%), T&G Global (-1.3%), and Meridian Energy (-0.8%).