Despite the stock market's up-and-down performance so far this year, investment strategists expect the S&P 500 index to end the year at 1,968 according to a new CNNMoney survey.

That represents a 6.7 percent increase from Monday's close of 1,845.04. Despite hitting a record high last week, the S&P 500 has dipped 0.2 percent so far this year. The index soared 29.6 percent in 2013.

Most of the 26 strategists surveyed anticipate the economy will soon rebound from its weather-induced slowdown of the first quarter. And that economic growth will spark profit growth, they say.

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"Companies remain well-positioned to convert modest revenue growth into solid earnings growth, just as they've done for several years," Kate Warne, a market strategist with Edward Jones, tells CNNMoney. She has a year-end forecast of 1,985 for the S&P 500.

Jack Rivkin, chief investment officer at Altergis, explains U.S. stocks will benefit as investors exit foreign markets. "When you look around the world, the U.S. looks pretty attractive," he tells CNNMoney.

The strategists see technology as the market's best performing sector and utilities as the worst.

After stocks' slide of the past few days, some investors have turned cautious. "If you take a closer look under the hood, things have been deteriorating for a while now," Ryan Detrick, senior technical strategist at Schaeffer’s Investment Research, tells Bloomberg.

"Small caps and tech have been breaking down all over the place the past month, with the big blue chips holding tough. Well, now it looks like the last place bulls were hiding is finally starting to crack."

Editor's Note: 38 Investments That Profit 96% of the Time (Free Video)

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