First-quarter earnings will stink. Ignore them

But Krishna Memani, chief investment officer of OppenheimerFunds, isn't too concerned. Even though analysts are forecasting a nearly 4% drop in profit for S&P 500 companies, Memani thinks investors will look past the expected weak results and focus more on the outlook for the second half of the year -- which he says is a lot sunnier.

Memani points out that the market is no longer worrying the Federal Reserve will sink the economy by continuing to raise interest rates. The current consensus is that the Fed will be on hold for the next few months. Some are even predicting the Fed will lower rates by year's end.

Memani doesn't believe the rate cut hype though. He argues that the economy simply isn't weak enough to justify lowering rates. But he also thinks the Fed shouldn't be raising rates either because inflation remains muted.

Holding steady could be just what Wall Street needs.

With that in mind, Memani still favors the technology, industrial and housing sectors over other more defensive parts of the market. He refers to banks and other financials as a value trap.

And Memani is also very bullish on China and other emerging markets. He believes that a rebound in China's growth will help sustain the current market rally.

Memani will talk about all this with CNN correspondent Alison Kosik on the "Markets Now" live show Wednesday at 12:45 pm ET. He'll also discuss the latest Brexit and US-China trade developments and preview Friday's big jobs report.

"Markets Now" streams live from the New York Stock Exchange every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. ET. Hosted by CNN's business correspondents, the 15-minute program features incisive commentary from experts.

You can watch "Markets Now" at CNN.com/MarketsNow from your desk or on your phone or tablet. If you can't catch the show live, check out highlights online and through the Markets Now newsletter, delivered to your inbox every afternoon.

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