Power Play: Playing Fed rate hike
There's speculation this week the Fed may not raise interest rates until later this year or early next year due to concerns about a weak economy, but two veteran market strategists are sticking with their forecasts.
"One of the biggest risks for the markets is if economic weakness outside of the U.S. begins to meaningfully undermine U.S. growth. However, we don't expect this to happen. We still believe the first Fed tightening will occur in June of this year," Erik Ristuben, chief investment strategist at Russell Investments, told CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Friday.
Also eyeing a hike this year is Paul Christopher, head of international strategy at Wells Fargo Investment Institute.
Watch more: US GDP disappoints
"We're looking for the Fed to hike rates before autumn. It's important to remember the positive impact of growth from lower oil prices. This will take time to work itself through and become more apparent," Christopher said.
The economy grew at an annual rate of 2.6 percent in the fourth quarter, the Commerce Department said Friday. That's nearly half of the 5-percent expansion rate in the third quarter.