Stocks witnessed another tailspin on Wednesday, as Pakistan Stock Exchange benchmark kse-100 lost 632.88 points to close at 40,571.48 index level. On Wednesday, the market witnessed a volatile session as the early momentum, which lifted kse-100 index by over 200 points failed to impress the investors, wherein the Index succumbed to selling pressure later in the day to breach 41,000 level. The market participants continued to be wary of rising political noise which had kicked in ever since the PML-N president and Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Shehbaz Sharif was arrested by the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) on Monday. The sentiments were further shaken on the day over a possible escalation of political chaos following the news-flow that the PML-N’s supremo, in his address to his party’s Central Executive Committee (CEC), will call for political agitation. During the day, in a tense session Kse-100 index touched its day’s high of 41,438.33 after it gained 233.97 points, however losing the momentum touched its intraday low of 40,494.90 after the index lost 709.46 points. The Index traded in a range of 943.43 points or 2.29% of the previous close, The index volumes jumped from 243.68 million shares recorded in the previous session to 336.7 million shares, while the overall market volumes also increased from 353.65 million shares recorded in the previous session to 473.7 million shares. The volume chart was led by Hascol Petroleum Limited followed by Unity Foods Limitedand K-Electric Limited. The scrips exchanged 86.63 million, 66.24 million and 24.76 million shares, respectively. Sectors which dragged down the index were Commercial Banks with 89 points, Cement with 82 points, Fertilizer with 71 points, and Oil and Gas Marketing companies with 56 points. Among the scrips, most points taken off the index was by Systems limited which stripped the index of 18 points followed by Kohat Cement Company Limited with 16 points, Honda Atlas Cars (Pakistan) Limited with 11 points, and Attock Refinery Limited with 10 points. The index was also let down by the series of financial results by several companies for the period ended June 30, 2020, with most of them reporting losses owing to the disruption in activities caused by the outbreak of COVID-19. Among the companies, Pioneer Cement Limited declared losses of Rs. 209.6 million and a loss per share of Rs. 0.92 for the year ended June 30, 2020, as compared to the earnings of Rs. 790.3 million (Earnings Per Share: 3.48) recorded last year. Thatta Cement Company also posted Loss Per Share of Rs1.58, while Kohat Cement Company Limited posted Loss Per Share of Rs2.21. Among other companies Ghandhara Industries Limited also showed a Loss after tax of Rs. 1.28 billion (LPS: 30.11) for the year, as opposed to profit of Rs. 60.09 million (EPS: 1.41) recorded last year, while Azgard Nine Limited reported a net loss of Rs 389 million (LPS: Rs 0.84) for the year, as compared to the net profit of Rs 305 million (Earning Per Share: Rs 0.67) recorded in FY19. Global Markets choppy as U.S Presidential debate weighed on sentiments Global stocks remained volatile as investors reacted to the first U.S presidential debate between President Donald Trump and Democratic challenger Joe Biden. Moreover, investors also responded to the release of China’s manufacturing activity data for September which came in at 51.5, defying analysts’ expectations and slightly higher than August’s 51.0 figures according to the country’s National Bureau of Statistics. PMI readings above 50 indicate expansion from the previous month, while those below that figure signal a contraction. In Asia, markets were mixed on Wednesday as investors reacted to the release of China’s manufacturing activity data for September. Japan markets were lower, with the Nikkei 225 shedding 1.5% to close at 23,185.12 while Chinese stocks were mixed on the day, with the Shanghai composite closed 0.2% lower to about 3,218.05. However, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index rose 0.79% to close at 23,459.05. Hong Kong’s market rose after Shares of China Evergrande Group listed in the city soared 19.39% after the property developer struck a deal with some investors of its unit, Hengda Real Estate. European stocks hovered near the fat line as investors treaded cautiously. Among the major markets, CAC-40 in France led the regional gains and closed 0.35% higher, followed by Germany’s DAX and UK’s FTSE-100, each gained 0.24% and 0.16% respectively. In U.S, Wall Street witnessed fresh interest following hopes for further fiscal stimulus package. This came after Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin struck an optimistic tone about reaching a coronavirus aid deal on Wednesday after the stalemate in Washington dragged on for weeks. Moreover, the gains also came back on the prospect of economic recovery, after ADP’s monthly private-sector jobs count showed growth of 749,000 in September, ahead of the 600,000 expected from a Dow Jones economist survey. Meanwhile, pending home sales soared 8.8% in August, marking its highest pace on record, according to the National Association of Realtors survey. During the early trading hours, Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading 350 points higher, while the S&P 500 was trading 1.0% higher. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite also posted early gains.