So the ASX took a pretty hard hit in March, down 6.2% - worst month since early 2022. Middle East stuff, inflation concerns, the usual suspects. But here's the thing: when the market pulls back like that, it usually creates some interesting opportunities for investors looking at the top 10 shares to buy now. I've been digging through both the Australian and US markets to see what's actually worth looking at right now, and there's some solid fundamentals hiding under the noise.

Let me walk through what I'm seeing. First, the Australian side. CSL is interesting because the healthcare sector on the ASX is trading at some of the cheapest valuations relative to fair value. The company's underlying profit grew 14% to US$3.3 billion in FY2025, and yeah, the share price has been weak, but the business is holding up. The main watch is whether their margin recovery picks up pace.

Then there's BHP. Copper just hit 51% of their underlying EBITDA for the first time - that's huge because it puts them right in the middle of two massive 2026 trends: energy transition and AI data center buildout. Both are copper-hungry. The commodity volatility risk is real though.

Wesfarmers is the resilience play. Bunnings and Kmart both grew earnings despite everyone talking about consumer slowdown. When retail can post 14.4% profit growth in this environment, that tells you something about the business quality.

Goodman Group is probably the most interesting Australian pick for me. They're pivoting hard into data center development, and honestly, very few ASX stocks give you direct exposure to the global data center boom like this does. Premium valuation is the trade-off.

Macquarie rounds out the ASX picks - asset management profit surged 43% in the first half of FY2026. They're betting on four long-term themes: demographics, decarbonization, digitalization, deglobalization. Those aren't going away.

Now, if you're looking at the top 10 shares to buy now globally, the US market has some serious contenders. Nvidia is the obvious one - down about 8% year-to-date, which some analysts are calling a better entry point. $215.9 billion in revenue, up 65% year-over-year, with data centers alone at $193.7 billion. The dependence on cloud provider spending is the risk.

Microsoft is executing well. Azure up 39%, Microsoft Cloud revenue crossed $51.5 billion. They're still early in AI adoption according to Satya Nadella. Margin pressure from infrastructure buildout is the concern.

Alphabet just crossed $400 billion in annual revenue for the first time. Google Cloud grew 48% to $17.7 billion, and search revenue still grew 17% despite all the AI disruption fears. Competition from AI-native search tools is worth watching.

TSMC benefits from the chip cycle regardless of who wins - they make chips for Nvidia, AMD, Apple, Broadcom. $122.4 billion in full-year 2025 revenue. Wall Street consensus is "Strong Buy" with around 29% upside potential. Geopolitical risk between US, China, and Taiwan is the elephant in the room.

Palo Alto Networks rounds out the US side. Cybersecurity is becoming critical infrastructure. Revenue up 15% to $2.6 billion in Q2, next-gen security recurring revenue up 33%. Full-year guidance got raised to $11.28-$11.31 billion.

Here's what I'm thinking about the top 10 shares to buy now across both markets: the ASX is better for income - you get those generous dividends plus franking credits. US stocks reinvest earnings and drive capital appreciation instead. The ASX is heavy on mining, banking, healthcare. The US gives you tech, AI infrastructure, global consumer brands that just don't exist on the ASX. Since 1900, ASX has returned 11.6% annually including dividends versus 10.1% for US shares.

For most people, mixing both makes sense. The ASX currently yields around 3.3% in dividends compared to 1.5% for global shares. US stocks trade overnight for Australian investors, and you'll need a W-8BEN form to avoid double taxation.

The real key to finding the best shares to buy right now isn't just picking names - it's understanding what actually drives each business. That March pullback created some interesting entry points, same with broader US volatility. But a lower price only matters if the fundamentals are sound. Focus on that first, then pick the top 10 shares to buy now that actually fit your risk tolerance and time horizon.