A little fear in the markets can be a good thing when you're buying ASX blue-chip shares.
As legendary investor Warren Buffett famously said, "Be greedy when others are fearful."
Indeed, while investors aren't close to the point of bunkering down in fright, the CBOE Volatility Index has leapt to highs not seen since early November 2023.
You may have heard this referred to as the VIX. Commonly used to gauge the level of fear in the markets, the VIX measures the expected volatility of the S&P 500 Index (INDEXSP: .INX). It's currently sitting at 16.03 points, the highest level of market fear since 1 November.
But that wouldn't put me off from confidently buying these three ASX blue-chip shares.
All three of these companies have existed for many years, offering a long historical performance track record to study. And their large size provides various benefits, including the ability to often secure financing at lower rates than small-cap stocks.
With that said …
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Three ASX blue-chips to buy when others are fearful
Starting with the biggest company on the ASX, we have iron ore miner BHP Group Ltd (ASX: BHP). The mining giant has a portfolio of high-quality mines in production and under development in Australia, North America, and South America.
Although this ASX blue-chip derives the bulk of its revenue from iron ore, its earnings are diversified among other resources, including copper, coal, nickel, and uranium.
The BHP share price is down some 13% in 2024 amid a sizeable slump in iron ore prices, while a global oversupply of nickel has seen the miner temporarily shutter its nickel operations.
While these woes won't disappear overnight, I believe the year-to-date retrace in the BHP share price offers an excellent long-term entry point.
Atop potential share price gains in the year ahead, BHP shares trade on a fully franked trailing dividend yield of 5.3%.
The next ASX blue-chip share I'd buy with confidence despite rising market fear is bank stock Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA).
Australia's biggest bank, and the second biggest stock listed on the ASX, provides a diversified range of integrated financial services.
Some analysts believe CBA is overvalued compared to its peers. But the big bank continues to perform strongly, reporting a 0.2% uptick in its half year operating income to $13.65 billion.
The CBA share price is up around 4% in 2024 and up 18% over six months. Despite that big share price surge, the ASX 200 bank stock still trades at a solid, fully franked dividend yield of 3.9%.
Which brings us to the third ASX blue-chip share I'd buy as others grow fearful: Biotech juggernaut CSL Ltd (ASX: CSL). The company's operating arms include CSL Behring, CSL Vifor, and its Seqirus businesses.
The CSL share price is down 2% in 2022, with shares up 11% over the past six months.
There's much to like about CSL, including its growth trajectory.
The third biggest stock on the ASX reported an 11% increase in half-year revenue (in constant currency) to US$8.05 billion.
And net profit after tax (in constant currency) leapt 20% year on year for the six-month period to US$1.94 billion. This saw the interim dividend boosted by 12% to AU $1.81 per share.
While this ASX blue-chip is not one to buy just for the dividends, CSL shares trade on a partly franked yield of 1.3%.
