Pakistani equities closed the first day after Eid holidays on a negative note, with benchmark KSE 100 Index shedding 934 points, closing at 34,567 levels, down 2.6 percent. The local bourse kicked off on a bearish tone, as the market nosedived, making a low of 1,037 points. “We expect market to remain under pressure as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government will present the Federal Budget FY20 today,” said Maaz Mulla, an equity analyst. Cements, E&Ps and Financials were the major laggards, where cement stocks such as DGKC (-5%), MLCF (-5%), CHCC (-5%) and PIOC (-5%) closed limit down and LUCK (-4.7%) was also among major laggards. PPL (-3.2%), OGDC (-3.2%) and POL (-3.5%) in the E&Ps closed negative. Among banks, NBP (-5%) closed limit down, whereas HBL (-3.1%) and MCB (-2.4%) were among major laggards. Average daily traded value stood at $24 million, down 26 percent and volume stood at 92 million shares, down 26 percent. Furthermore, major contribution to total market volume came from KEL (+4.4%),BOP (-5.5%), UNITY (-8.3%), LOTCHEM (-6.4%) and OGDC (-3.2%). Mulla expects market to remain choppy and volatile ahead as he recommends investors to stay cautious as the budget FY20 will be presented today.