Utilities Up on Defensive Bias -- Utilities Roundup

Dow Jones03-25 05:34

Shares of power producers rose as traders rotated into the sector for defensive reasons.

Violent volatility in the utility sector in recent weeks reflects the sector's dual identity, said one strategist.

"As uncertainty rose from various difficult angles, and obviously with the Iran conflict...maybe you should see some movement toward more defensive instruments," said Alex Kania, utilities analyst at brokerage BTIG. "At the same time, utilities are seen as bond proxies. [There's] this idea that: If Treasury yields go up, then utility dividend yields need to rise as well in order to maintain that spread." So, as inflation fears sparked by the oil spike drove up Treasury yields, utility stocks dropped so that their yields would rise accordingly, Kania said.

Rising gasoline prices for utility fleets and higher costs of electric-infrastructure materials could also be a challenge for business fundamentals, said Kania. "The inflationary environment is a potential pressure for utilities' costs," Kania added. "They might go up more quickly than they can go through the rate-case cycle, and that might pressure earnings power."

Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 24, 2026 17:34 ET (21:34 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

At the request of the copyright holder, you need to log in to view this content

Disclaimer: Investing carries risk. This is not financial advice. The above content should not be regarded as an offer, recommendation, or solicitation on acquiring or disposing of any financial products, any associated discussions, comments, or posts by author or other users should not be considered as such either. It is solely for general information purpose only, which does not consider your own investment objectives, financial situations or needs. TTM assumes no responsibility or warranty for the accuracy and completeness of the information, investors should do their own research and may seek professional advice before investing.

Comments

We need your insight to fill this gap

Leave a comment

{"i18n":{"language":"en_US"},"isChannel":false,"data":{"share":"https://ttm.financial/m/news/2622016573?lang=en_US&edition=fundamental","thumbnail":"","is_english":true,"pubTime":"2026-03-25 05:34","share_image_url":"https://static.laohu8.com/e9f99090a1c2ed51c021029395664489","id":"2622016573","market":"nz","top_or_hot":-1,"title":"Utilities Up on Defensive Bias -- Utilities Roundup","media":"Dow Jones","content":"<font class=\"NormalMinus1\" face=\"Arial\">\n<p>\n  Shares of power producers rose as traders rotated into the sector for defensive reasons. \n</p>\n<p>\n  Violent volatility in the utility sector in recent weeks reflects the sector's dual identity, said one strategist. \n</p>\n<p>\n  \"As uncertainty rose from various difficult angles, and obviously with the Iran conflict...maybe you should see some movement toward more defensive instruments,\" said Alex Kania, utilities analyst at brokerage BTIG. \"At the same time, utilities are seen as bond proxies. [There's] this idea that: If Treasury yields go up, then utility dividend yields need to rise as well in order to maintain that spread.\" So, as inflation fears sparked by the oil spike drove up Treasury yields, utility stocks dropped so that their yields would rise accordingly, Kania said. \n</p>\n<p>\n  Rising gasoline prices for utility fleets and higher costs of electric-infrastructure materials could also be a challenge for business fundamentals, said Kania. \"The inflationary environment is a potential pressure for utilities' costs,\" Kania added. \"They might go up more quickly than they can go through the rate-case cycle, and that might pressure earnings power.\" \n</p>\n<pre style=\"white-space: pre\">\n \n</pre>\n<p>\n  Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com \n</p>\n<p>\n  (END) Dow Jones Newswires\n</p>\n<p>\n  March 24, 2026 17:34 ET (21:34 GMT)\n</p>\n<p>\n  Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones &amp; Company, Inc.\n</p>\n</font>","source":null,"html":"<!DOCTYPE html>\n<html>\n<head>\n<meta http-equiv=\"Content-Type\" content=\"text/html; charset=utf-8\" />\n<meta name=\"viewport\" content=\"width=device-width,initial-scale=1.0,minimum-scale=1.0,maximum-scale=1.0,user-scalable=no\"/>\n<meta name=\"format-detection\" content=\"telephone=no,email=no,address=no\" />\n<title>Utilities Up on Defensive Bias -- Utilities Roundup</title>\n<style type=\"text/css\">\na,abbr,acronym,address,applet,article,aside,audio,b,big,blockquote,body,canvas,caption,center,cite,code,dd,del,details,dfn,div,dl,dt,\nem,embed,fieldset,figcaption,figure,footer,form,h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6,header,hgroup,html,i,iframe,img,ins,kbd,label,legend,li,mark,menu,nav,\nobject,ol,output,p,pre,q,ruby,s,samp,section,small,span,strike,strong,sub,summary,sup,table,tbody,td,tfoot,th,thead,time,tr,tt,u,ul,var,video{ font:inherit;margin:0;padding:0;vertical-align:baseline;border:0 }\nbody{ font-size:16px; line-height:1.5; color:#999; background:transparent; }\n.wrapper{ overflow:hidden;word-break:break-all;padding:10px; }\nh1,h2{ font-weight:normal; line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:.6em; }\nh3,h4,h5,h6{ line-height:1.35; margin-bottom:1em; }\nh1{ font-size:24px; }\nh2{ font-size:20px; }\nh3{ font-size:18px; }\nh4{ font-size:16px; }\nh5{ font-size:14px; }\nh6{ font-size:12px; }\np,ul,ol,blockquote,dl,table{ margin:1.2em 0; }\nul,ol{ margin-left:2em; }\nul{ list-style:disc; }\nol{ list-style:decimal; }\nli,li p{ margin:10px 0;}\nimg{ max-width:100%;display:block;margin:0 auto 1em; }\nblockquote{ color:#B5B2B1; border-left:3px solid #aaa; padding:1em; }\nstrong,b{font-weight:bold;}\nem,i{font-style:italic;}\ntable{ width:100%;border-collapse:collapse;border-spacing:1px;margin:1em 0;font-size:.9em; }\nth,td{ padding:5px;text-align:left;border:1px solid #aaa; }\nth{ font-weight:bold;background:#5d5d5d; }\n.symbol-link{font-weight:bold;}\n/* header{ border-bottom:1px solid #494756; } */\n.title{ margin:0 0 8px;line-height:1.3;color:#ddd; }\n.meta {color:#5e5c6d;font-size:13px;margin:0 0 .5em; }\na{text-decoration:none; color:#2a4b87;}\n.meta .head { display: inline-block; overflow: hidden}\n.head .h-thumb { width: 30px; height: 30px; margin: 0; padding: 0; border-radius: 50%; float: left;}\n.head .h-content { margin: 0; padding: 0 0 0 9px; float: left;}\n.head .h-name {font-size: 13px; color: #eee; margin: 0;}\n.head .h-time {font-size: 11px; color: #7E829C; margin: 0;line-height: 11px;}\n.small {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.9); -webkit-transform: scale(0.9); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.smaller {font-size: 12.5px; display: inline-block; transform: scale(0.8); -webkit-transform: scale(0.8); transform-origin: left; -webkit-transform-origin: left;}\n.bt-text {font-size: 12px;margin: 1.5em 0 0 0}\n.bt-text p {margin: 0}\n</style>\n</head>\n<body>\n<div class=\"wrapper\">\n<header>\n<h2 class=\"title\">\nUtilities Up on Defensive Bias -- Utilities Roundup\n</h2>\n\n<h4 class=\"meta\">\n\n\n<div class=\"head\" \">\n\n\n<div class=\"h-thumb\" style=\"background-image:url(https://static.tigerbbs.com/150f88aa4d182df19190059f4a365e99);background-size:cover;\"></div>\n\n<div class=\"h-content\">\n<p class=\"h-name\">Dow Jones </p>\n<p class=\"h-time\">2026-03-25 05:34</p>\n</div>\n\n</div>\n\n\n</h4>\n\n</header>\n<article>\n<font class=\"NormalMinus1\" face=\"Arial\">\n<p>\n  Shares of power producers rose as traders rotated into the sector for defensive reasons. \n</p>\n<p>\n  Violent volatility in the utility sector in recent weeks reflects the sector's dual identity, said one strategist. \n</p>\n<p>\n  \"As uncertainty rose from various difficult angles, and obviously with the Iran conflict...maybe you should see some movement toward more defensive instruments,\" said Alex Kania, utilities analyst at brokerage BTIG. \"At the same time, utilities are seen as bond proxies. [There's] this idea that: If Treasury yields go up, then utility dividend yields need to rise as well in order to maintain that spread.\" So, as inflation fears sparked by the oil spike drove up Treasury yields, utility stocks dropped so that their yields would rise accordingly, Kania said. \n</p>\n<p>\n  Rising gasoline prices for utility fleets and higher costs of electric-infrastructure materials could also be a challenge for business fundamentals, said Kania. \"The inflationary environment is a potential pressure for utilities' costs,\" Kania added. \"They might go up more quickly than they can go through the rate-case cycle, and that might pressure earnings power.\" \n</p>\n<pre style=\"white-space: pre\">\n \n</pre>\n<p>\n  Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com \n</p>\n<p>\n  (END) Dow Jones Newswires\n</p>\n<p>\n  March 24, 2026 17:34 ET (21:34 GMT)\n</p>\n<p>\n  Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones &amp; Company, Inc.\n</p>\n</font>\n\n</article>\n</div>\n</body>\n</html>\n","isBrief":false,"type":0,"news_type":1,"symbol":null,"symbol_name":null,"start_time":0,"source_url":"https://dowjonesnews.com/newdjn/logon.aspx?AL=N","article_id":"2622016573","we_media_id":"106","thumbnails":[],"rights":null,"url":"https://stock-news.laohu8.com/highlight/detail?id=2622016573","pubTimestamp":1774388040,"columns":[],"sourceInfo":null,"weMediaInfo":{"media_name":"Dow Jones","introduction":"Dow Jones publishes the world’s most trusted business news and financial information in a variety of media.","home_visible":0,"id":"106","head_image":"https://static.tigerbbs.com/150f88aa4d182df19190059f4a365e99"},"summary":"Shares of power producers rose as traders rotated into the sector for defensive reasons.Violent volatility in the utility sector in recent weeks reflects the sector's dual identity, said one strategist.\"As uncertainty rose from various difficult angles, and obviously with the Iran conflict...maybe you should see some movement toward more defensive instruments,\" said Alex Kania, utilities analyst at brokerage BTIG. \"At the same time, utilities are seen as bond proxies. [There's] this idea that: If Treasury yields go up, then utility dividend yields need to rise as well in order to maintain that spread.\" So, as inflation fears sparked by the oil spike drove up Treasury yields, utility stocks dropped so that their yields would rise accordingly, Kania said.Rising gasoline prices for utility fleets and higher costs of electric-infrastructure materials could also be a challenge for business fundamentals, said Kania. \"The inflationary environment is a potential pressure for utilities' costs,\"","collect":0,"end_time":0,"defaultTopTitle":"","property":[],"viewcount":null,"language":"en","relate_stocks":{},"translate_title":"公用事业公司因防御性偏见而上涨——公用事业综述","themeId":"8603dabb40994e59ac78c04c930c0d49","isJumpTheme":false,"ttsUrl":null,"symbols_score_info":{},"content_text":"Shares of power producers rose as traders rotated into the sector for defensive reasons. \n\n\n  Violent volatility in the utility sector in recent weeks reflects the sector's dual identity, said one strategist. \n\n\n  \"As uncertainty rose from various difficult angles, and obviously with the Iran conflict...maybe you should see some movement toward more defensive instruments,\" said Alex Kania, utilities analyst at brokerage BTIG. \"At the same time, utilities are seen as bond proxies. [There's] this idea that: If Treasury yields go up, then utility dividend yields need to rise as well in order to maintain that spread.\" So, as inflation fears sparked by the oil spike drove up Treasury yields, utility stocks dropped so that their yields would rise accordingly, Kania said. \n\n\n  Rising gasoline prices for utility fleets and higher costs of electric-infrastructure materials could also be a challenge for business fundamentals, said Kania. \"The inflationary environment is a potential pressure for utilities' costs,\" Kania added. \"They might go up more quickly than they can go through the rate-case cycle, and that might pressure earnings power.\" \n\n\n \n\n\n  Write to Rob Curran at rob.curran@dowjones.com \n\n\n  (END) Dow Jones Newswires\n\n\n  March 24, 2026 17:34 ET (21:34 GMT)\n\n\n  Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.","kind":"highlight","is_publish_news":false,"is_publish_highlight":false,"is_publish_live":false,"is_publish_wemedia":null,"editions":null,"column":"","sentiment":"1","news_tag":"","news_rank":0,"symbols":[],"gpt_button":0,"need_auth":true,"code":"91000000","status":"200"},"commentList":[],"isCommentEnd":true,"newsSizeData":{"likeSize":0,"commentSize":0,"repostSize":0,"favoriteSize":0,"likeStatus":false,"favoriteStatus":false},"APP":{"userAgent":"Mozilla/5.0 AppleWebKit/537.36 (KHTML, like Gecko; compatible; ClaudeBot/1.0; +claudebot@anthropic.com)","isDev":false,"isTTM":true,"tenantId":"TBGLOBAL","deviceId":"web-server-community-laohu8-v3","version":"4.38.0","shortVersion":"4.38.0","platform":"web","vendor":"web","appName":"ttm","isIOS":false,"isAndroid":false,"isTiger":false,"isTHS":false,"isWeiXin":false,"isWeiXinMini":false,"isWeiBo":false,"isQQ":false,"isBaiduSwan":false,"isBaiduBox":false,"isDingTalk":false,"isToutiao":false,"isOnePlus":false,"isHuaWei":false,"isXiaomi":false,"isXiaomiWebView":false,"isOppo":false,"isVivo":false,"isSamsung":false,"isMobile":false},"href":"/m/news/2622016573","isCrawlerRequest":true}