Poor show by darling sectors

PETALING JAYA: The oil and gas (O&G) and automotive sectors, which had been attracting strong investor interest of late, were among the sectors that posted disappointing first-quarter results, analysts said.

In the O&G space, KAF Research pointed out that aggregate normalised earnings were down 11% year-on-year (y-o-y), mainly dragged by Petronas Chemicals Group Bhd’s operations being affected by residual plant shutdowns scheduled from last year, while Petronas Dagangan Bhd’s margins continued to remain depressed due to higher operating costs.