On Wednesday, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a subdued session and dropped into the red. The benchmark index fell 0.1% to 8,911.4 points.

Will the market be able to bounce back from this on Thursday? Here are five things to watch:

ASX 200 expected to tumble

It looks set to be a poor session for Australian investors on Thursday following a tough night on Wall Street. According to the latest SPI futures, the ASX 200 is expected to open the day 88 points or 1% lower this morning. In the United States, the Dow Jones fell 0.75%, the S&P 500 dropped 0.5%, and the Nasdaq was 0.65% lower.

ASX 200 shares going ex-dividend

A number of ASX 200 shares are going ex-dividend this morning and could trade lower. This includes appliance manufacturer Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG), fund manager Perpetual Ltd (ASX: PPT), copper producer Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR), and telco Spark New Zealand Ltd (ASX: SPK).

Oil prices jump again

ASX 200 energy shares Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) and Santos Ltd (ASX: STO) could have another positive session after oil prices jumped again overnight. According to Bloomberg, the WTI crude oil price is up 3.9% to US$96.67 a barrel and the Brent crude oil price is up 3.8% to US$101.67 a barrel. Traders bid oil prices to a four-month high after fighting escalated in the Persian Gulf.

Elders downgraded

Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) shares are close to being fully valued according to analysts at Bell Potter. This morning, the broker downgraded the agribusiness company’s shares to a hold rating (from buy) with an improved price target of $6.70. It said: “Following the recent recovery in the share price we are moving our rating from Buy to Hold. Investments in Delta and SYSMOD are the largest drivers of near term growth, however, we see the large livestock tailwinds the agency business has benefited from the past two years facing more difficult comparisons moving forward.”

Gold price rises

It could be a decent day for ASX 200 gold shares Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) and Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) on Thursday after the gold price edged higher overnight. According to CNBC, the gold futures price is up 0.2% to US$4,447.2 an ounce. This was driven by a softening US dollar.

The post 5 things to watch on the ASX 200 on Thursday appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• CSL shares are up 90%. How much higher can they go?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• The ASX 200 is down nearly 4% in a month. Is the sell-off getting serious?
• Here’s what brokers tip for Santos shares over the next 12 months
• Aussie stocks are getting harder to pick. Here’s why

Motley Fool contributor James Mickleboro has positions in Woodside Energy Group Ltd. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Elders. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The ASX dividend stock L1 Global Long Short Fund Ltd (ASX: GLS) could be one of the best options for investors wanting a good level of passive income. I’d rather invest in this ASX share rather than rely on the Age Pension.

L1 Global Long Short Fund Ltd is a listed investment company (LIC) which is relatively new to the ASX.

It follows the same investment strategy as the L1 Long Short Fund Ltd (ASX: LSF), which has been listed for more than eight years, but it has a global share focus rather than looking largely evenly at ASX shares and global shares.

For multiple reasons, I think the L1 Global Long Short Fund Ltd is a top pick for retirement (and wealth building).

Good passive dividend income potential

L1 Global Long Short Fund doesn’t yet have a long dividend record, but its sibling LIC has demonstrated its desire and ability to grow dividend payouts at a pleasing pace over the last few years, since 2021.

The ASX dividend stock has recently provided guidance that it’s going to significantly increase its dividend payouts in FY27, which will help boost the dividend yield.

The LIC has indicated it will increase its annual dividend per share to “at least” 8 cents in the 2027 financial year. That translates to a grossed-up dividend yield of 5.4% at the time of writing, including franking credits.

Impressively, that guided payout represents significant year-over-year growth, and I believe the dividend could grow by another 10% (or more) in FY28 compared to the guided payout in FY27.  

Effective investment strategy

The investment team in charge of this LIC combines valuation (primarily discounted cash flow) with qualitative considerations such as management quality, long-term industry and company structure and business trends to identify attractive investment opportunities.

The fund managers and analysts in charge of this LIC have several thousand company meetings a year, including one-on-one visits with company management, listed and unlisted competitors, customers, suppliers, operational personnel, regulators, consultants, unions and other parties that can help provide a deeper insight.

It’s also willing to use short selling, where it bets on share prices going down. That means it can make returns on certain stocks if the share price goes down.

At the end of July 2026, the ASX dividend stock reported that it had delivered a total return of 17.8% since its inception, beating the global share market return of 11.1% in that same timeframe since November 2025.

Since the inception of the specific global long-short strategy, which started in January 2025 and is unlisted, it has returned 58.1% compared to the global share market return of 20.1% in the same time period. Of course, past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns.

Producing good investment returns can help fund good passive income and capital growth, which is something that the Age Pension can’t do.

Diversification

L1 Global Long Short Fund offers investors pleasing diversification.

Its portfolio typically has between 40 to 80 positions across a wide range of sectors and themes, allowing it to make returns in a variety of ways.

The company also provides effective geographic diversification across North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

While diversification doesn’t automatically mean great returns, it can help lower the risk of being too exposed to one particular area. The global investment mandate also means that the ASX dividend stock can search far and wide for opportunities.

How many shares would it take to equal the Age Pension?

The maximum annualised Age Pension that Australians can receive right now is approximately $32,200.

To receive that level of income from L1 Global Long Short Fund, it’d take 402,500 shares if we exclude franking credits and 281,750 shares if we include the franking credits as part of the dividends.

Overall, I’d be excited to own that many shares, though I also think it’s a good idea to receive dividends from different sources.

The post 281,750 shares of this high-yield ASX dividend stock pays an income equal to the Age Pension appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• 2 great ASX dividend share buys for passive income in September

Motley Fool contributor Tristan Harrison has positions in L1 Global Long Short Fund Ltd and L1 Long Short Fund. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The ASX shares most attractive to own are usually cheapest at the moment the market is least comfortable.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has slipped from an August peak of 9,282 points to around 8,901.

That is a fall of roughly 4% in a month.

Around 120 companies in the index were in the red on Wednesday, creating opportunities for investors looking to get in cheap.

Why the sell-off has created opportunities in ASX shares

The cause is relatively simple: Macquarie now expects the Reserve Bank to lift the cash rate by 25 basis points later this month.

The broker noted that trimmed mean inflation has spent 17 of the last 20 quarters above the target band.

The cash rate already sits at 4.35% after three increases this year.

Higher rates compress the multiple investors will pay for future earnings, although they may not automatically damage the earnings themselves.

With that in mind, here are three ASX shares that look a lot cheaper now that the broader market has sold off.

1. Judo Capital Holdings Ltd (ASX: JDO)

Judo Capital closed Wednesday at 99.5 cents, down almost 40% over twelve months.

Shares crashed 46% in a single session in June after the bank flagged three problem exposures and cut guidance.

The result that followed was better than the recent share price moves suggest, although increases in credit delinquencies have been a drag for the company.

FY26 statutory net profit rose 29% to $111.1 million.

Profit before tax climbed 34% to $168.1 million.

Gross loans and advances grew 18% to $14.7 billion while deposits jumped 24% to $12.2 billion.

The net interest margin widened 20 basis points to 3.13%.

Chief executive Chris Bayliss did reference particular credit issues in his speech:

FY26 has been another year of genuine momentum for Judo. While the increase in specific provisions late in the year was disappointing, the underlying performance of the Bank has remained strong, with record revenue, continued operating leverage, strong deposit growth and lending at the top end of guidance.

FY27 guidance calls for profit before tax of $210 million to $220 million, whereas the average broker target of $1.51 implies roughly 50% upside.

2. South32 Ltd (ASX: S32)

South32 is the odd one out here.

The company’s shares hit a fresh 52-week high of $5.32 on Wednesday and are up 103% over twelve months.

Not every holding bought during a sell-off has to be a bargain.

South32 earns US dollars from copper, zinc and silver, which is a completely different driver to the domestic rate cycle.

FY26 underlying earnings rose 55% to US$1.03 billion and underlying EBITDA grew 28% to US$2.46 billion. Meanwhile, total dividends lifted 55% to 9.3 US cents per share, fully franked.

Chief executive Matt Daley explained where the business is heading.

The sale of our aluminium value chain assets to Alcoa will simplify and strengthen our portfolio, positioning South32 as a leading base metals focused company with high-margin assets and a pipeline of compelling growth options in copper, zinc and silver.

3. Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)

Life360 closed at $19.64 and are down 60.6% over twelve months.

On the positive side, second quarter revenue rose 38% to US$159.0 million and adjusted EBITDA increased 53% to US$31.1 million. Monthly active users passed 102.4 million and advertising revenue reached US$22 million.

The company holds US$467.7 million in cash and guides FY26 revenue to US$650 million to US$685 million.

The shares fell anyway, because investors had priced in a bigger guidance upgrade.

Foolish takeaway

A 4% pullback is not a crash.

But what this pullback has done is separate the multiple from the earnings across much of the market at once.

All three of these ASX shares grew earnings materially in FY26, and two have been sold down heavily regardless.

For ASX investors, this could be a unique buying opportunity.

The post Top 3 ASX shares I’d buy after the most recent sell-off appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

• Life360 shares are 60% below broker targets. Here’s why
• Brokers rate these 5 ASX shares as a strong buy, and tip upsides of 28% to 62%
• South32 shares reach fresh 52-week high: Can they keep climbing?
• Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today
• Buy, hold, sell: Medibank Private, Ansell, South32 shares

Motley Fool contributor Mark Verhoeven has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended Life360. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Life360. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.