The US election could be the single-largest cause of the S&P/ASX 200 (Index: ^AXJO) (ASX: XJO) sinking more than 4.5% in the past month.
Much of that has to do with the uncertainty of the outcome, and the prospect of Donald Trump becoming president. Markets don't like uncertainty and a Hillary Clinton win could be huge news for the world's stock markets including ours.
Among the stocks falling in the month on little or no news, REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA) is down 13%, as is Sirtex Medical Limited (ASX: SRX) and Technology One Limited (ASX: TNE). Webjet Limited (ASX: WEB) has lost 23% of its share value, OFX Group Ltd (ASX: OFX) is down 21% and BWX Ltd (ASX: BWX) has dropped 16%.
Among the big banks, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ASX: ANZ) has fallen 4%, Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is down 3%, National Australia Bank Ltd (ASX: NAB) is the biggest loser, falling 7% and Westpac Banking Corp (ASX: WBC) share price is flat.
The following three stocks could be the best stocks to buy before the US election (Wednesday Australian time) if the markets rally hard.
Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH)
Cochlear has seen its share price sink 12% in the past month, and from a high of $144.12, the share price is now $125.34. The hearing aid manufacturer produced a 30% increase in net profit in fiscal 2016 but appears unlikely to produce that growth again in FY2017. Forecasts are for growth of between 10% and 20% over FY2016, which may be the company being conservative. The current price weakness may be viewed as a bargain 5-10 years from now.
CSL Limited (ASX: CSL)
At under $100, biopharmaceutical company CSL could be the bargain of the century. Shares are currently trading at around $99.13 and at a P/E of ~27 times last year's earnings. Shares in CSL are very rarely cheap, due to the company's high quality and consistent earnings growth. The share price reached $120 in July before falling away, and like Cochlear, this could be the time to jump in or top up your holding.
Flight Centre Travel Group Ltd (ASX: FLT)
Hammered by a profit downgrade last week, the travel agent has seen its share price plunge below $30. At the current price of $29.93, the shares trade at a trailing P/E of 12.2x earnings and are paying a dividend yield of 5.1%. With a growing, global business, Flight Centre has repeatedly illustrated that its business is not threatened by pure online players, and this time is not different.
