How to Play the Thanksgiving Rally of 2011

(TheStreet) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average of 30 blue-chip U.S. companies has historically given investors something to be thankful for during the week of Thanksgiving: money. Buying into what is known as the Thanksgiving Rally could earn you profits that make up for Black Friday shopping on Apple iPhones, Coach bags and Vizio LCD TVs. The rally, often used as a short-term trading strategy, was coined after a 35-year trend whereby the stock market would pop on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day and the Friday afterward. The trend was broken in 1987, the year the market crashed and a decline was recorded on both Wednesday and Friday surrounding Thanksgiving. Since 1988, the stock market recorded gains 14 of 23 times for the combined Wednesday and Friday.

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