The Pakistan Stock Exchange paused for the Friday prayers break with the KSE-100 still in the red, extending Thursday’s sell-off as investors stayed cautious over the Middle East and oil. At the suspension, the benchmark stood at 167,933.14, down 703.71 points, or 0.42%, from Thursday’s close of 168,636.85, according to exchange data.

The index had opened near 168,639 and briefly touched an intraday high of 168,854.46 before sellers pushed it to a low of 167,685.42, a swing of about 1,169 points. By around 10am the benchmark was already off 341 points at 168,296.

Selling was visible in automobile assemblers, cement, commercial banks, oil and gas exploration, oil marketing companies and power. Index heavyweights including ARL, HUBC, PSO, SSGC, HBL, NBP and UBL were in the red in early trade.

Read: PSX loses 1,332 points amid selling pressure

Turnover in the morning session was 67.51 million shares, with a traded value of Rs3.89 billion. Pakistan International Bulk Terminal led volumes at 14.51 million shares, down 2.31%, followed by K-Electric at 12.14 million shares and Cnergyico at 9.22 million. Maple Leaf Cement and Lotte Chemical were also among the active names, both lower.

The softer open followed Thursday’s close, when the KSE-100 shed 1,332.47 points, or 0.78%, to 168,636.85 on profit-taking in banks, exploration firms, cement and oil marketing companies. Early-session commentary linked Friday’s caution to reports of a wider United States military buildup in the Gulf, elevated crude, and nerves ahead of US jobs data.

The second session resumes after Friday prayers. With the index already below 168,000 and Thursday’s loss still unretraced, dealers will watch whether buying returns in banks and energy or the morning’s drift deepens into the close.