With the consensus on Wall Street that first-quarter earnings will largely disappoint, any positive news will likely propel the market higher, Index Financial Partners' chief investment officer, Jack Bouroudjian, said Wednesday.
The market's move sideways over the course of the last few months "is almost as good as a correction," he said in an interview with CNBC's "Closing Bell."
"Over the course of the next few months, especially if we see earnings not disappoint as much as people are expecting them to disappoint ... if there is any beat at all there then you are probably going to get a good move up."
Alcoa kicked off the unofficial start to earnings season after the bell Wednesday, beating on earnings but falling short on revenue.
Also on Wednesday, the Federal Reserve Open Market Committee released the minutes of its March meeting, which showed a division among policymakers over the timing of an interest rate hike. The and Dow Jones industrial average initially dipped into negative territory on the release before turning around to close higher.
Read MoreFed members anguish over rate-hike timing
To Keith Fitz-Gerald, chief investment strategist at Money Map Press, traders don't know what to do because the Federal Reserve doesn't know what to do.
"I think we've got to pull the needle out of the patient and see whether the patient recovers. This is a market that is addicted to cheap money," he said.
John Manley, chief equity strategist at Wells Fargo Funds Management, believes the central bank will raise rates sometime this year, but will not tighten.
"They want to make absolutely sure and they'll raise rates only when they feel it's not really tightening," he said. "To me, that gives a plus to the markets somewhere down the road."
Read MoreDudley: Rate hike may be delayed; market is key
Specifically he thinks financials will benefit in that environment. Elsewhere in the U.S., he also likes technology and industrials.
Manley would also play Europe.
"The developed part of Europe is changing. It's been cheap for a reason for three years. Those reasons are going away," he said.
—CNBC's Evelyn Cheng contributed to this report.