NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- The non-farm payroll report for February once again topped economists' expectations. However, U.S. stocks are trading lower Friday on the notion that the Federal Reserve will plan to raise interest rates sooner than previously anticipated due to the better-than-expected economic landscape. 

It does look like a rate hike could come sooner and the markets aren't handling it well, Pete Najarian, co-founder of optionmonster.com and trademonster.com, said on CNBC's "Fast Money Halftime" TV show. Investors are trying to position themselves for a higher rate environment, which is notably putting selling pressure on utilities and REITs, among other industries. 

While the market may experience short-term declines, U.S. equities historically trade higher in a rising rate environment, argued Stephen Weiss, founder and managing partner of Short Hills Capital Partners. The Fed will remain accommodative for years and "there's nothing to worry about," he said, even with a pullback in the cards. 

Investors shouldn't get too caught up in these selloffs, which are rather minimal given the large rallies already seen in stocks, said, Jon Najarian, also a co-founder of optionmonster.com and trademonster.com. What really matters is how frequently the Fed raises rates and by how much, he added.

Laszlo Birinyi, founder and president of Birinyi Associates, says investors are ready for a rate hike, but that doesn't mean the prospect won't lead to temporary selloffs in the stock market. He stressed that stocks continue to be in a bull market and appear poised to move higher. 

Europe has seen the worst, there isn't a bubble in technology, and oil prices have stabilized, Birinyi pointed out. He reiterated that it's "still a bull market" and investors shouldn't compare it to previous markets, because this an abnormal environment with central bank accommodation. 

However, due to uncertainty over the next few months, Birinyi says he bought shares of Microsoft (MSFT) - Get Report. The stock was unfairly punished for one lackluster earnings report and has an attractive risk-to-reward near current levels. He also likes shares of Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) - Get Report, which has a lot of exposure to several different sectors and is a high quality company.

The conversation shifted to bank stocks after it was announced on Thursday that all 31 large banks had passed the Fed's "stress tests." However, according to Mike Mayo, bank analyst at CLSA, next week is important too, in order to see which banks can return capital to shareholders, and how much will be permitted. 

In the past, about every one in eight banks has failed to meet the conditions to be allowed to return capital to its shareholders in the form of dividends or stock buybacks. He likes Goldman Sachs (GS) - Get Report and has a $225 price target and outperform rating on the stock, but his top pick is Citigroup (C) - Get Report. 

Mayo has a $107 four-year price target on the stock, arguing that this is a "make it or break it" scenario for the bank's management team. Citigroup will have to take action against management if the company isn't able to return capital to its shareholders this year, after failing to in two of the past three years. However, Mayo says the company seems like it will pass, which could lead a "multi-year inflection point" in the stock. 

While Birinyi is long Citigroup, J.P. Morgan (JPM) - Get Report and Wells Fargo (WFC) - Get Report, he believes the financial sector is poised to underperform the broader market going forward. It will do well, but not as well as the rest of the market, he added. 

Weiss is a also a buyer of Citigroup, which he called undervalued, especially compared to its peers like J.P. Morgan. While the banking sector can't return to its old methods of achieving growth due to increased regulation, it should benefit from higher interest rates. 

For their final trades, Pete Najarian said he's buying Facebook (FB) - Get Report, Jon Najarian said to buy Prudential Financial (PRU) - Get Report and Weiss said to buy the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) - Get Report.

This article is commentary by an independent contributor. At the time of publication, the author held no positions in the stocks mentioned.