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Why these pros are bullish on US stocks
Despite some having described the year's first quarter as disappointing or subpar, experts Tom Lee and S&P Capital IQ's Lindsey Bell said Monday they remain bullish on U.S. stocks.
"I think we're going to see some big gains this year," Fundstrat Global Advisers' managing partner told CNBC's " Squawk on the Street ." "If you look at the last 30 years, the correlation between gasoline spending and apparel spending for 80 percent of households is essentially -1, meaning if gasoline drops 50 percent, in the last 30 years, it was always a commensurate increase in entertainment and apparel spending."
U.S. crude fell about 2 percent on Monday as investors kept an eye on negotiations regarding Iran's nuclear program in Switzerland.
Lee also said he expects the next round of earnings to be positive. "The level of earnings has obviously not been great, but I do think earnings are going to be a positive catalyst because we're going to hear companies say, 'Look, we don't know where oil's going to settle, but if it stays here, we're good on margins,' " he said.
On the other hand, Bell said in another interview with CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" that she remains bullish on the overall markets because she believes cyclicals are poised for an earnings rally next quarter. "That being said, we need the economy to continue to improve to make sure that happens," S&P Capital IQ's senior analyst said.
"[The economy] has been a little disappointing. In the first quarter, we saw the weather had a lot to do with that. And don't forget there was a West Coast port closure, and an 8 percent surge in the dollar."
The dollar traded higher across the board on Monday, as the euro (Unknown: EURBA=) dropped about 0.7 percent against the greenback to $1.0812. The dollar was also up more than 0.8 percent against the yen (: OSEJPY=) at 120.11.
Read More Stocks surge with Dow up triple digits; energy up 1.5%
Another reason she believes cyclicals will do so well is because she expects consumers to start spending again. "There is an oil subsidy from the decline in oil prices," she said. "Consumers haven't really spent that. I think the weather also impacts consumer spending because you don't want to get out there [with] all these snowstorms. ... I think we're going to see that spending coming out in the second half of the year."
Consumer savings rose to $768.6 billion, the highest level since December 2012, with the savings rate also rising to 5.8 percent.
Both Lee and Bell made their remarks as U.S. equities soared on Monday, with the Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 moving up more than 1 percent. The Nasdaq composite also traded up about 0.9 percent.
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-Reuters contributed to this report.
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