Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist at Wells Capital Management, said he’s cautiously optimistic about stocks because the market may not have hit a bottom during January’s sell-off.

"My guess is we're going to break back down again yet; and break 1,800 [on the S&P 500], get everyone convinced we're headed for recession, scare everyone it's a bear market," he told CNBC. “I don't think we'll go a lot lower than that. We'll be at 16 times trailing earnings at around that level. I think that's a very sustainable multiple, even if we're facing higher interest rates [from the Fed] over the next couple of years."

The S&P 500 has fallen about 7.3 percent this year to about 1,895, erasing the gains since April 2014. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq composite entered correction territory last week, falling more than 10 percent from record highs.

"The upside potential even to get back to flat this year is starting to be in-line or maybe a little better than the downside risk from here," Paulsen said, advising to buy on dips below 1,900 on the S&P 500. “[The] market is finding a new valuation level to deal with full employment" and the consequences of higher interest rates, according to CNBC.

The Federal Reserve meets this week for the first time since December, when it raised interest rates after keeping them near zero percent since 2008. The central bank is expected to keep rates unchanged.

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