The record run in United States tech shares came to an abrupt halt overnight. The Nasdaq Index plunged more than 5%, its biggest one-day fall since March.
The sell-off has continued in the Australian market, with the S&P/ASX200 Index (ASX: XJO) down 2.4% at the time of writing. In my opinion, the sell-off could be a buying opportunity for long-term investors. On that note, here are 4 ASX shares I’m looking to buy today.
Afterpay Limited (ASX: APT)
Afterpay has been a bellwether of overall market enthusiasm during the pandemic. At the time of writing, the Afterpay share price is trading nearly 4% lower for the day.
Although there have been some absurd valuations floating around, I think Afterpay could still be a buy. With online shopping and eCommerce platforms thriving during the lockdown period, Afterpay could see continued momentum in the medium term.
Sonic Healthcare Limited (ASX: SHL)
Sonic Healthcare is the third largest provider of clinical laboratory services in the world. The company operates pathology and radiology services in Australia and seven other countries including the US.
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting most companies, this ASX share has emerged stronger. This is largely due to the company’s role in COVID-19 testing around the world.
Sonic was able to offset initial falls in base revenue with revenue from COVID-19 testing. This was reflected in the company’s impressive FY20 annual report.
ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD)
ResMed has emerged as a leader during the pandemic.
The RedMed share price has struggled, however, after the company reported its annual report for FY20. For the full-year, ResMed delivered a 15% constant currency increase in revenue of US$2,957 million. In addition, the company reported a 32% surge in net income to US$692.8 million.
Despite the impressive performance, the ResMed share price has languished since reporting, largely due to the company’s subdued outlook for FY21. However, in my opinion, ResMed is a quality healthcare company that has excellent growth potential in the long term.
Wesfarmers Ltd (ASX: WES)
During the initial lockdown period, many people flocked to complete home improvements and also set up home offices.
Wesfarmers owns both Bunnings and Officeworks, which are two businesses that obviously benefitted from these trends.
In my opinion, Wesfarmers has great exposure to the emerging ‘stay at home’ economy. This should ensure growth for the company in the medium to long term, which is why it’s on my buy list.
Foolish takeaway
As readers may deduce, the shares I have picked (apart from Afterpay), have little exposure to the tech sector. The tech sector has seen great momentum recently. In my opinion, this has been fuelled largely by retail investors looking for exposure to both growth and defensive earnings.
As a result, I think it would be wise to stay out of the sector for the time being. Therefore, I have taken a longer-term approach and chosen companies that are more exposed to health and essentials services.
Another point to consider is that the US has a Labour Day holiday on 7 September. In my experience, sell-offs before a long weekend are commonplace. Many investors will be looking to take profits and reduce their exposure over the holiday period.
Taking these factors into consideration, today’s price action on ASX shares could be seen as a buying opportunity. However, it is important to note that markets have rallied extremely hard in the past five months. As a result, this could also be the start of a more prolonged sell-off.
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More reading
- Why the Afterpay share price crashed 9% lower today
- Another buy now, pay later company is listing on Monday
- How to build a recession-beating ASX share portfolio
- 2 of the best ASX healthcare shares to buy today
- Why a recession shouldn’t matter for the ASX share market
Motley Fool contributor Nikhil Gangaram has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia owns shares of AFTERPAY T FPO and Wesfarmers Limited. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended ResMed Inc. and Sonic Healthcare Limited. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.
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