Here are Bank of America's top stock ideas for the first quarter

Published Mon, Jan 4 20212:46 PM EST

(This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only.) The stock market is starting off the new year with a spike in volatility and big losses . For investors positioning for a likely eventful first quarter, here are Bank of America's top stock ideas to consider. The Wall Street firm publishes its high-conviction picks at the beginning of each quarter based on potential significant market and business-related catalysts. Bank of America said financial stocks will have a strong 2021 amid a rebound in cyclicals, and Citigroup is poised to outperform on the back of regulatory remediation and the continuation of its strategic makeover. The bank called Citigroup a "value within value" stock. Shares of Citigroup lost more than 22% in 2020. Here's a selection of some of the picks: For Foot Locker , Bank of America said it's a less expensive way to play Nike 's strong product momentum, which is set to create sales and margin tailwinds in 2021. "We believe NKE is accelerating its consolidation strategy and will be aggressively moving away from larger undifferentiated retailers in 2021 and reprioritizing product allocations to benefit strategic partners including FL," the bank's analysts said. "We also believe FL should be a significant "vaccine" beneficiary which should help accelerate a rebound in mall traffic." ServiceNow is a top pick in Bank of America's large cap universe. The bank said the software company screens well in its framework to evaluate a company's market, competitive moat, management strength and margin potential. The stock rallied more than 90% in 2020 amid a massive shift to digital during the pandemic. Among the beaten-down energy sector, the bank said Occidental is one of the best recovery plays and one of the most levered stocks to an oil recovery. "Occidental is past the worst of a commodity downturn that exposed the high level of debt used to finance the acquisition of Anadarko in 2019," the bank's analyst said. "The stock has paid the price along with the loss of its investment grade credit and a dividend cut that was the final affront to long standing investors." The bank is also bullish on T-Mobile , which is expected to announce positive updates on its investor day event tnext month. Bank of America also believes the telecom company will report stronger-than-expected earnings and subscriber numbers for the fourth quarter. "Importantly, we expect the analyst day will be a material catalyst for the stock," the bank's analysts said. "Investors have been waiting since April 2018 for an update on the long term targets for the company and the results so far imply that there is material upside to the prior targets." Shares of T-Mobile soared nearly 72% in 2020. Bank of America's $155 price target would translate into a 18% gain for the stock in the next 12 months.

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(This story is for CNBC Pro subscribers only.)

The stock market is starting off the new year with a spike in volatility and big losses. For investors positioning for a likely eventful first quarter, here are Bank of America's top stock ideas to consider.