The Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 closed little changed on Tuesday, as bulls paused after driving stocks to new intraday highs.
Alan Gayle of RidgeWorth Capital Management said the price action was largely constructive with the market digesting substantial gains; the S&P 500 has rallied more than 9 percent from a six-month low in October.
"I find the close encouraging, It's normal to pause after that kind of advance," he said.
And going forward he sees every reason for stocks to grind higher. Citing former concerns about Europe, as well as tensions in and weakness in China, "at the margin the news hasn't been that bad," he said on CNBC's "Closing Bell."
In other words, headwinds that drove stocks sharply lower in October have died down. "A lot of worries that held the market back are diminishing. And that's where, I think, the end of year lift comes from," he said.
Oliver Pursche of Gary Goldberg Financial Services also is looking for an additional advance. He thinks catalysts that could drive stocks further could surface as soon as later this week, after Germany releases economic data.
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"Any kind of sign that shows Europe isn't quite as bad as expected, should push stocks higher," Pursche said.
—Reuters contributed to this report.