Bears swept off investors’ sentiments at Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) on Monday, as panic sell-off plunged benchmark KSE-100 index by 786.30 points by the closing bell to clock at 45,051.05 level. On Monday, the market witnessed selling pressure across the board,over rising political temperatures in the country and redemption calls. On political front, investors were irked over emerging possibilities of opposition’s move to table a no-confidence motion at any point in time against sitting Punjab Chief Minister Usman Buzdar. However, nobody is sure whether Usman Buzdar would opt to follow in the footsteps of his party leader Imran Khan and seek a confidence vote on his own, or wait for his political foes to give him tough time on the assembly floor and take advantage of a frail majority his government enjoys in Punjab currently. Moreover, investors were also cautious over rising debate about a rigged ‘Vote of Confidence’ won by the Prime Minister Imran Khan, as opposition leaders challenged the number of votes cast, saying agencies’ help was sought to ‘rope in’ the ruling alliance’s parliamentarians for getting their votes. During the session, the market pressure was amplified owing to major selling by Mutual Funds following a possible redemption, which offloaded $9.37 million worth of shares. The recent upsurge in inflation (primarily due to international crude oil prices) also caused investors to speculate about upcoming monetary policy and impact thereof on cyclicals. As a result, cement, steel and oil & gas marketing sectors saw major attrition. The volume at KSE-100 jumped from 168 million shares recorded in the previous session to 235.65 million shares, while the all-share volume also surged from 317.24 million shares recorded in the previous session to 459.87 million shares. Market Capital decreased by Rs.109.07 Billion, while total value traded increased by 8.81 billion to Rs.24.75 billion The volume chart was led Azgard Nine Limited, Unity Foods Limited and TRG Pakistan Limited. The scrips exchanged 48.20 million, 45.36 million and 35.36 million shares, respectively. According to the National Clearing Company of Pakistan Limited foreign investors were net buyers ofworth $2.84 million worth of equities. Among local investors, Mutual Funds led the selling chart, while Insurance Companies, Brokers and banks also offloaded $2.62 million, $1.5 million and $1.58 million worth of equities. During the session, sectors which dented he index were Cement with 205 points, Commercial Banks with 104 points, Power Generation & Distribution with 67 points, Automobile Assembler with 49 points and Pharmaceuticals with 46 points. Among the scriups, the most points taken off the index was by Lucky Cement Limited which stripped the index of 85 points followed by Hub Power Company Limited with 48 points, HabibBank Limited with 39 points, DGKhan Cement Limited with 36 points and Indus Motors Company Limited with 24 points. However, sectors which continued to weigh up the index were Tobacco with 7 points, Close – End Mutual Fund with 2 points and Glass & Ceramics with 1 point. Among the scrips, the most points added to the index was by Pakistan Tobacco Company Limited which contributed 10 points followed by Pakistan Oilfields Limited with 10 points, Azgard Nine Limited with 7 points, Meezan Bank Limited with 3 points and Friesland Campina Engro Pakistan Limited with 2 points.