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Why US stocks may rebound in 2nd half: Strategists
U.S. stocks opened sharply lower Monday following a selloff in Asia, but domestic equities aren't out for the count in 2015, experts told CNBC.
Investors are worried the United States is the last man standing and ready for a tumble in the face of weakness in China and a downturn in commodities, Fundstrat Global Advisors' Tom Lee said Monday.
However, the consummate bull said U.S. stocks have room to run. That's because price-to-earnings ratios have contracted as corporate earnings have grown against the backdrop of a flat stock market, making U.S. equities look less expensive.
The S&P 500 (CME:Index and Options Market: .INX) is up 1 percent year to date, while the Dow Jones industrial average (Dow Jones Global Indexes: .DJI) has fallen 1.4 percent.
Read More What's fueling the frenzy in China stocks?
"At this moment a lot of our clients have raised a lot of cash, so I think that they're very cautiously positioned," Lee told CNBC's "Squawk Box." "In the beginning of the year, they had their chips on Europe and in China. I think as they think about where they're going to put it, where they're going to invest in the second half, I think the U.S. has some visibility."
The U.S. market only looks expensive when one factors in energy, he said. While the fall in crude prices initially hurt stocks due to its impact on industrial production, consumers and companies should reap a dividend from lower energy costs.
Lee noted that in 1904, the last time the U.S. market produced zero percent gains in the first and second quarters, stocks rallied 42 percent in the following six months.
Read More Great news-2015 could be 1904 all over again!: Tom Lee
U.S. stock skidded Monday after Asian markets sold off , led by an 8-percent plunge in China's Shanghai composite (Shanghai Stock Exchange: .SSEC) on weak economic data and further losses for commodities.
Read More Shanghai shares tank over 8% on soft data
The Shanghai Composite's exposure to world markets and the broader Chinese economy is not strong, said Tony Crescenzi, portfolio manager and strategist at investment firm Pimco.
"There aren't many linkages to consumers there, investors here. Think of Pimco-$1.6 trillion under management. How much money does Pimco have in Chinese stocks?" he told "Squawk Box." "I think nothing because its very difficult to purchase stocks."
Crescenzi said he sees the U.S. 10-year Treasury (U.S.:US10Y) creeping up a little more over the next year to 2.25 to 2.75 percent from its current range of 2 to 2.5 percent.
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Higher interest rates provide an incentive for investors to exit stocks and buy bonds.
"The backdrop for stocks, as far as we can see, would be very good," he said. "Then Europe won't raise rates for three years. It's rate is at zero. It'll probably be 1 percent in 2020. And Japan, same rate. So the rest of the decade, very low rates."
Further, while loan growth in Europe is too weak to offset massive reductions in debt financing, U.S. bank lending has been stronger. That shows the Federal Reserve's monetary policy has been successful to an extent, but it is still battling the global story, limiting its ability to support a return to its higher target inflation rate.
Read More Will the Fed lift commodity currencies?
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