ASX 200 shares in this sector are withstanding today's selloff

While the market is falling, this sector is holding up…

Mitchell Lawler

Mitchell stumbled upon the concept of investing when in high school, devotedly urging his parents to put some money into a handful of technology companies with increasingly popular products among his demographic – many of which have gone on to great success. It wouldn’t be until 2017, some five years later, that Mitchell became an investor of his own money. Having studied and worked as a mechanical engineer in the building services industry, Mitchell takes a methodical and analytical approach to evaluating businesses. Rather than relying purely on numbers, Mitchell drills beyond a company’s metaphorical mantle to unearth obscure patterns or competitive advantages that would go otherwise unnoticed. His expertise resides within areas such as software, consumer goods, and building services equipment. However, his quest to find quality companies that set the industry standard and flex some degree of an impenetrable position has no limits – small cap to mega cap, cosmetics to healthcare – if it’s an exceptional business it’s on his radar.

Published September 20, 2021 4:14 pm AEST

Unfortunately, the Australian share market has decided to baptise the start of a new week with a bloodbath. At the time of writing, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is down 1.99% to 7,262 points.

The index's disappointing performance follows another abysmal day for iron ore prices. Currently, the steelmaking commodity's price has fallen below US$92 per tonne. This represents almost a decrease of 34% in September alone. Due to this, many of the big miners in the ASX 200 are down heavily.

Despite the inundation of red, one sector on the market is upholding a partial reminder of what green looks like.

Two young boys sit at a desk wearing helmets with lightbulbs, indicating two ASX 200 shares that a broker has recommended as buys today — Image source: Getty Images

What's going on with the ASX 200?

Every dog has its day… and today it is the utilities sector. While the sector has woefully underperformed the benchmark index, and every other sector for that matter, today it is shining above the rest.

The market is struggling under the pressure of big falls in the mining sector on Monday.

Some of Australia's largest ASX-listed companies are down by more than 4% intraday. For example, BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP), Fortescue Metals Group Limited (ASX: FMG), and Rio Tinto Limited (ASX: RIO) are down 4.8%, 4.85%, and 4.06% respectively.

Providing utility to investors' portfolios

For those investors of a few ASX 200 utility shares, the green is still quite sparse. However, there are a handful of companies that are likely leaving shareholders with a smile today. These include:

Spark Infrastructure Group Ltd (ASX: SKI) up 0.36%
Mercury NZ Ltd (ASX: MCY) up 1.25%
Spark New Zealand Ltd (ASX: SPK) up 0.22%
Genesis Energy Ltd (ASX: GNE) up 0.31%
Meridian Energy Ltd (ASX: MEZ) up 0.01%
Ausnet Services Ltd (ASX: AST) up 18.69%

Yes, you read that last one correctly — the decimal spot isn't in the wrong place. Shares in the Victorian energy supply have rocketed higher after Ausnet received a non-binding offer at $2.50 per share — equating to $9.6 billion in total.

The offer to acquire 100% of issued shares came from Canadian-based Brookfield Asset Management Inc (TSE: BAM.A). Brookfield is known to be one of the world's largest alternative asset management companies, with an estimated US$626 billion in assets under management.

Clearly, the offer has led to an explosion in the company's share price. As a result, the entire utility sector has been buoyed by the announcement.

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