U.S. stocks dropped Wednesday, continuing a rough start to the year for investors. "Fast Money" traders picked through the battered markets for names that could have potential ahead.
The slid 2.5 percent Wednesday and has lost 7.5 percent of its value this year. But opportunities still exist amid the weakness, traders said.
Investors may want to avoid U.S. multinational companies that have significant exposure to a stronger dollar, contended trader Dan Nathan. Instead, he looked to the Utilities Select Sector SPDR Fund, which he has previously described as a defensive play with the benefit of a dividend yield.
Nathan has a stake in the fund as well as the PowerShares DB US Dollar Index Bullish Fund, which he said could continue to rise with strength in the dollar.
Trader Karen Finerman, meanwhile, pointed to U.S. consumers stocks that have endured recent losses. She owns Macy's shares, which have fallen 41 percent in the last year in trading that she described as "ridiculously overdone."
The stock has climbed more than 10 percent already this year.
Finerman also said that Home Depot would look appealing on a price dip. The stock has fallen 8 percent this year.
Disclosures:
Pete Najarian
Long AAPL, BAC, BKE, BMY, BP, DIS, DISCA, FOXA, GE, KO, MRK, PEP, PFE, he is long calls A, AAL, ABX, BAC, CHS, CMI, COP, DAL, EMR, GDX, GE, HAIN, HUN, LC, MOS, MSFT, NRF, NRG, PNR, POT, UAL, VZ, WYNN, YDKN, ZIOP, he is long puts FCX, MRO
Dan Nathan
Long MCD Feb Put Spread, long PFE buy-write, long TWTR March Risk Reversal, long UUP March call, long XLU Feb Call spread, long PYPL Jan Risk Reversal, long M Jan16 call spread, long NTAP Jan risk reversal, long QCOM feb calls, short SPY, long UUP, long WMT puts, long INTC JAN 32 puts.
Brian Kelly
Brian Kelly is long BBRY, Bitcoin, GDX, GLD, Hong Kong Dollar, TLT, US Dollar; he is short British Pound, Euro, Canadian Dollar, GSG, EEM, EWC, EWH, SPY, DB
Karen Finerman
Karen is long BAC, C, FL, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, KORS call spreads, M, SEDG, SPY calls, URI. She is short SPY. Her firm is long ANTM, AAPL, BAC, C, FL, FL calls, GOOG, GOOGL, JPM, KORS, LYV, M, MA, MOH, PLCE, URI, URI long puts, WFM, her firm is short IWM, MDY, SPY. Karen Finerman is on the board of GrafTech International.