NASDAQ still struggling through the holiday trading seasson

It may technically be the first day of the new year, but today is still part of a slow-trading holiday week for NASDAQ, and hence noise as we wait for the big dogs and heavy hitters to return to their desks from their long holiday break next week. The sharp decline on Wednesday seemed a bit excessive and unwarranted, so a recovery bounce today would not be unexpected.

NASDAQ futures are up moderately, indicating a nice pop at the open, but whether a decent rally builds on that open or people once again sell into any rallies is a coin flip.

It is not unusual to see buying enthusiasm on the first day or two of a new year. The heavy hitters will wait to see if that enthusiasm is infectious before piling on or wiping out that initial enthusiasm. I'd wait until Wednesday to decide whether the start of the year is strong or weak.

I'm still working on tuning my portfolio allocation and trading strategies for 2015. I remain aggressively invested, but will continue to raise cash for reserves, and buy any big dips on quality stocks. I'm looking at a list of biotech stocks as well. Suggestions are welcome.

-- Jack Krupansky