The NZX 50 fell 45 points, or 0.3%, to 13,208 in Thursday morning deals, erasing gains from the previous two sessions and retreating from its highest level since May 7, reached a day earlier, tracking a fall on Wall Street overnight as renewed tensions in the Middle East drove oil prices higher. US inflation data also pressured sentiment, as inflation accelerated to its highest level in three years in May, reinforcing expectations that the Fed will hold interest rates steady at its upcoming meeting. Investors remained wary ahead of the release of New Zealand's business PMI for May, due on Friday, after the index recorded its slowest growth in seven months in April. Most sectors traded in the red, including financials, healthcare, and utility stocks. Among early losers were Mainfreight (-1.5%), Fisher & Paykel Healthcare (-0.9%), Freightways Group (-0.8%), ANZ Group (-0.7%), Infratil (-0.5%), and Ebos Group (-0.4%).