Stocks witnessed panic selling on the first trading day of the week as Kse-100 index breached 40,000 mark after losing 989.36 points to settle at 39,072.47 index level. On Monday, Kse-100 index continued its bearish momentum as market witnessed another day of selling pressure amid lack of triggers. The market sentiments dwindled as investors responded to fresh micro-smart lockdown imposed in Karachi, after the National Command and Operations Centre (NCOC) expressed concern over an increase in Covid-19 cases, particularly in Karachi Moreover, the negative perception was also coupled with rising political tension , which had kick started 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 market sentiments continue to take a hit as the opposition continues to exert pressure on the government and threatens agitation across the country. Political uncertainty escalated on Monday after Former prime minister Nawaz Sharif and other PML-N leaders was booked for ‘conspiring against the state and its institutions’ by Punjab authorities. A First Information Report (FIR) was registered against the PML-N’s supreme leader at Shahdara police station in Lahore in which sections 120 A and B; 121 A and B, 123 A and B and 124 A and B had been imposed, among other provisions. Moreover, among other sectrors Exploration & production stocks, in particular took a hammering following a sharp decline in international crude oil prices, whereas redemptions in mutual funds also prompted institutional sell-off. During the day the index nosedived right from the beginning of the session, as kse-100 touched its intra-day low at 38,865.10 points, after losing 1,205.73 points. The index volumes slightly increased from 255.94 million shares recorded in the previous session to 277.944 million shares, while the overall market volumes also surged from 348.59 million shares from the previous session to 409.95 million shares. The volume chart was led by Hascol Petroleum Limited followed by Unity Foods Limited and K-Electric Limited. The scrips exchanged 60.43 million, 31.98 million and 29.16 million shares, respectively. Sectors which dented the index were Commercial Banks with 130 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 113 points, Fertilizer with 111 points, Oil & Gas Exploration Companies with 103 points and Oil & Gas Marketing Companies with 71 points. Among the scrips, most points taken off the index was by Hub Power Company Limited which stripped the index of 74 points followed by Engro Corporation Limited with 56 points, Pakistan Petroleum Limited with 50 points, TRG Pakistan Limited with 36 points and Colgate-Palmolive (Pakistan) Limited with 32 points. However, Sectors that propped up the index were Glass & Ceramics with 4 points. Among the scrips most points added to the index was by Dawood Hercules Corporation Limited which contributed 8 points followed by Ghani Glass Limited with 3 points and Kohat Cement Company Limited with 1 point. Global Markets: Investors tracked Trump’s health condition Global stock markets showed some resilience on Monday, as Investors tracked U.S president Donald Trump’s health condition after he and U.S first lady Melania Trump tested positive for Covid-19. During the previous week, U.S president’s diagnosis added more uncertainty to the election, an event that was already weighing on global market and keeping traders on edge as they attempted to evaluate the possible outcomes. On Sunday, Trump said in a minute-long video posted on Twitter that “we are getting great reports from the doctors.” The president also took a short, last-minute motorcade ride to wave to his supporters standing outside the hospital. Most of the Asian markets witnessed some gains, as Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index led the gains as it rose 1.32% on the day to 23,767.78, with shares of British multinational investment bank and financial services holding company’s HSBC soaring 4.03%. Moreover, Japan’s, Nikkei 225 rose 1.23% to close at 23,312.14, while South Korea’s Kospi index added 1.29% on the day to 2,358. However, Markets in China were closed on Monday for a holiday. Meanwhile, in Europe, stocks advanced across the board with travel and leisure stocks leading the gains as all sectors except utilities traded in positive territory. Among major indexes, Germany’s DAX index led the gains, adding over 1%, followed by CAC-40 in France and UK’s FTSE-100, which gained 0.83% and 0.66% respectively. In U.S, Wall Street also picked up the pace after stocks succumbed to negative market sentiments following the news flow of Trump testing positive for Covid-`19.However, on Monday, during the early trading hours Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 350 points, while S&P 500 rose 1.3%. The tech heavy Nasdaq Composite was also advancing during the session. Investors will continue to monitor Trump’s Covid-19 prognosis, election season and an expected compromise in Washington over a possible Covid-19 stimulus package.