Strategists Agree: Energy Stocks Are 'Great'

Looking at the market, what does a big-market player see?

Randall Eley, president and chief investment officer of The Edgar Lomax Co., sees inflation and debt: "We're looking at a highly-inflated economy and market," he tells CNBC. "The U.S. dollar is down over the last year, 12 percent againt the euro."

John Bollinger, president of Bollinger Capital Management, sees volatility and change: "We've gone from a very low volatility regime to a very high volatility regime," he says.

"I think we're going to stay there, so investors are going to be uncomfortable with the market, but it's going to pay them for their discomfort," Bollinger adds.

So which stocks look the best? "Most importantly," Bollinger explains, "we've gone from a regime where smaller stocks did better than larger stocks to a regime where size doesn't pay one way or the other. The name of the game has now become growth versus value, and growth is the leader now."

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Eley likes Chevron ("I think you're looking at a recession-proof [company].. with a P.E. of only 10"), Dow Chemical ("A dividend yield of 3.8, just about twice the market"), and Wal-Mart Stores ("I think the fact that you see them cutting capital spending shows that this is a company that's not just going to tread water").

Bollinger says, "I like his first two picks, because I think energy is a great sector to be involved with here. Basic materials, I think, works very well."

He added, "Telecom and technology...offer an awful lot of opportunities to investors."

He's less sanguine about Wal-Mart: "I'd avoid the consumer stocks, whether they're the cyclical stocks or the defensive stocks. I just think they're lagging here, and I'd wait for them to show some real leadership on the upside before I got involved in there."

Bollinger would also like to see some "real leadership" in the financial sector "before I started committing real money there."

Eley is less reluctant about financials. "Remember," he says, "we're long-term investors, and I do like names such as JP Morgan Chase and Bank of America. They may not go up in the immediate future, but when we buy, we expect to hold at least three years."