This S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) bear market we are currently enduring has seen ASX shares smashed across the board. Almost no sector has been spared at various points in time.
We all know how brutally travel stocks like Qantas Airways Limited (ASX: QAN) have been treated. Ditto with retailers like Myer Holdings Ltd (ASX: MYR). Even the ASX banks like Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) have been punished by investors over the past six weeks.
But there is a sector that's behaving quite differently to the rest of the market…
ASX resources
Now, ASX resources shares can be broken up into various sub-sectors depending on the commodity they specialise in.
Oil stocks like Woodside Petroleum Limited (ASX: WPL) have hit a wall. Crude oil is at a record low price, sparked by both the coronavirus and some geopolitical games being played by Russia and OPEC right now.
But other resources companies have also been treated harshly by the market. These include Newcrest Mining Limited (ASX: NCM), BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP) and South32 Ltd (ASX: S32).
Gold miners like Newcrest have been whipsawing all over the place recently. That's because the gold price has been doing the same thing. Gold has traded between US$1,470 and US$1,700 in just the past month alone. So you can't blame investors for trying to work out how to value Newcrest!
South32 mostly mines industrial metals like tin, manganese and silver. These metals' prices have collapsed since the start of the year, and that explains why South32 was trading pretty close to its 52-week low today.
But iron ore miners like Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG) tell a more interesting tale. Fortescue shares ended trading today at $10 – far closer to the company's 52-week high ($12.87) than its 52-week low ($6.59).
In fact, Fortescue has only lost around 9% of its value since mid-February (when the ASX started tanking). That's probably because the iron ore price has held up remarkably well during this bear market. Fellow iron miner Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) has fared only slightly worse with a 13% slump over the same period.
BHP has lost a lot more, with a 24% slump. But that can be explained by BHP's significant exposure to oil, which doesn't burden Rio or Fortescue.
Foolish takeaway
I think the fortunes of these miners show how a diversified portfolio can limit your losses when a 'black swan' event like the coronavirus hits the economy (and stock market).
Some sectors always perform better than others, and this time it seems miners are amongst the winners. There would be a lot of investors wishing that they had some ASX resources shares in their portfolios right now!
