So the ASX had a rough March - down 6.2%, worst month since early 2022. Middle East stuff and inflation fears spooked everyone. But honestly, that kind of selloff usually creates some decent opportunities if you know where to look.

I've been digging through what could actually be the best shares to buy in australia right now, and there's definitely some solid picks across both the local market and the US. Figured I'd share what I'm seeing.

On the ASX side, healthcare is looking cheaper than it has in a while. CSL's been under pressure since last year but the underlying business is still firing - profit grew 14% to $3.3 billion in their latest results. Mining looks interesting too. BHP's now getting over half their EBITDA from copper, which is huge given the whole energy transition and AI data center thing. Both those trends are absolutely copper-hungry.

Then there's the retail play. Wesfarmers owns Bunnings, Kmart, and Officeworks. Despite everyone talking about consumer slowdown, they still managed to grow earnings 14.4% to $2.93 billion. That kind of resilience matters when things get choppy.

Goodman's another one worth watching - they're pivoting toward data centers and that exposure to the AI infrastructure boom is pretty rare on the ASX. Macquarie's worth a look too if you want exposure to some longer-term themes like demographics and decarbonization.

Now if you're looking at the best shares to buy in australia and willing to look overseas, the US has some compelling options in 2026. Nvidia's down about 8% year-to-date, which some see as a better entry after the earlier run-up. Their data center revenue alone hit $193.7 billion last year. Microsoft's cloud business is still accelerating - Azure grew 39% last quarter and they're saying we're still early in the AI adoption cycle.

Alphabet passed $400 billion in revenue for the first time, Google Cloud is growing 48%, and despite all the AI search talk, regular search revenue still grew 17%. TSMC makes chips for basically everyone - Nvidia, AMD, Apple, Broadcom - so they benefit regardless of who wins in the chip wars. Palo Alto Networks is the cybersecurity play, with next-gen security revenue growing 33%.

Honestly though, if you're trying to figure out what the best shares to buy in australia strategy should be, it's worth thinking about what you actually want. The ASX is built for income - generous dividends, franking credits, currently yielding around 3.3%. US stocks reinvest earnings and drive share price growth instead, yielding only about 1.5%. The ASX is heavily concentrated in mining, banking, healthcare. US is way more spread out and gives you access to tech and AI infrastructure that just doesn't exist locally.

Long-term, both markets have delivered. ASX has returned around 11.6% per year since 1900 including dividends, US about 10.1%. Most people probably benefit from having a mix of both.

The March pullback created some interesting entry points. But remember - a lower price only matters if the business is actually sound. That's the real filter for finding the best shares to buy in australia or anywhere else. Focus on the fundamentals first, then pick what fits your risk tolerance and time horizon.