The NZX 50 dropped 30 points, or 0.2%, to 13,363 in Thursday morning trade, extending losses from the previous session and tracking a decline on Wall Street overnight after the Fed kept interest rates steady and signaled the possibility of rate hikes this year. Wednesday's data also continued to pressure sentiment, as New Zealand's consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since 2023 in Q2, while the Q1 current account deficit widened from the same period a year earlier. However, the latest data helped cap the fall, as New Zealand's GDP growth accelerated to 0.8% qoq in Q1, while annual growth held steady at 1.5%. Reports that the US and Iran plan to sign an agreement to end the war also limited losses, as lower oil prices eased concerns over inflationary pressures. Energy, materials, and industrial stocks mainly weighed on the index, with notable losses from Contact Energy (-1.2%), Freightways Group (-0.8%), AFT Pharmaceuticals (-0.7%), and Auckland International Airport (-0.5%).