The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is in the red on Monday, down 1.08% to 8,662.6 points at the time of writing.
The benchmark index appears to be taking a breather today after a very strong 2.06% lift last week.
ASX 200 shares reset their record intraday high twice last week. The previous record was 8,639.1 points on 11 June.
The index reached 8,641.3 points during trading on Thursday and then hit 8,776.4 points during trading on Friday.
Friday represented the first day in history that the ASX 200 has traded above 8,700 points.
(Fun fact: On Friday, we also saw the S&P/ASX All Ords Index (ASX: XAO) trade above 9,000 points for the first time, too.)
There were two catalysts for these strong gains.
First was the strength in US markets, with the benchmark S&P 500 Index (SP: .INX) resetting its record three times last week.
The second catalyst was weaker-than-expected Australian jobs data released on Thursday.
The data raised the market's expectations of an interest rate cut next month.
ASX 200 blue-chip shares did well out of last week's surge.
The S&P/ASX 20 Index (ASX: XTL) rose by 2.07% last week, slightly higher than the 2.06% lift for the ASX 200.
Dylan Evans from Catapult Wealth has identified two blue-chip shares within the ASX 20 that he thinks are good buys today.
Let's check them out.
Image source: Getty Images
2 ASX 200 blue-chip shares to buy now
CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL)
According to The Bull, Evans has a buy rating on this ASX 200 biotech share.
CSL has been in the news since President Donald Trump suggested that he would impose up to a 200% tariff on pharmaceutical imports.
President Trump made that suggestion during a discussion with TV journalists, and said companies would be given time to relocate.
Evans points out that much of CSL's manufacturing is based outside of the US, so any tariff would likely have an impact on revenue.
But he still reckons this ASX 200 blue-chip share is a buy.
He explains:
… CSL is trading on an attractive valuation against global peers, particularly for a company with a history of double-digit growth.
We see weakness as an opportunity to buy a high quality company at an attractive price.
There's a distinct possibility that any Trump tariff has less impact than expected, or is ultimately watered down, or simply disappears as part of another Trump backflip.
The CSL share price is down 0.84% to $255.23 at the time of writing.
Last week, CSL shares lifted 6.83%.
Rio Tinto Ltd (ASX: RIO)
Evans also has a buy rating on the ASX 200 diversified mining share, Rio Tinto.
Rio is known as an iron ore giant and generates most of its revenue from this resource.
However, Evans notes that Rio has been growing its exposure to aluminium, copper, and lithium.
He reckons this gives Rio good growth potential, given the growing global demand for electricity, batteries, and other green technologies.
Evans says:
The company has the capability to invest in other commodities due to a modest gearing level and plenty of free cash flow generated by a mature iron ore business.
RIO offers solid prospects supported by a good management track record and a sustainable and appealing fully franked dividend yield that was recently above 5.5 per cent.
The Rio Tinto share price is up 1.5% to $114.81 on Monday.
Last week, the ASX 200 iron ore share ascended 1.81%.
