Stock investors have plenty to be thankful for this year.
The major indices are sitting at record highs, and Boris Schlossberg, managing director of foreign exchange at BK Asset Management, points out that seasonally, this is a positive time for stocks.
• "Thanksgiving week seems to be a very kind week for investors," Schlossberg said Wednesday on CNBC's "Trading Nation," citing data from the Stock Trader's Almanac. Specifically, the markets have risen in 34 of the last 35 years during the week of Thanksgiving.
• To Schlossberg, it's all about investor sentiment. He said, "There really is no fundamental reason for why stocks should be up during Thanksgiving week, so it's clearly a question of sentiment. During this time of the year, not just investors, but everyone is feeling the holiday spirit, feeling a lot more generous and perhaps feeling a lot more hopeful."
• This "natural lift" in sentiment certainly lifts stocks, he said, and he has confidence the strong sentiment will carry into the week ahead, with a rise of up to 75 basis points during that time. Such a continuation effect seems to have been a pretty historical impact, he added.
• Stocks closed broadly lower on Wednesday ahead of the holiday, as the Nasdaq rose and the Dow Jones industrial average and S&P 500 both closed lower.
Bottom line: If history is any indication, this week and next are going to prove quite strong for investors.
