Fiscal Cliff Euphoria Fades

Fiscal cliff euphoria is beginning to fade on this second trading day of the new year. Dow futures are indicating a 19-point drop at the open, after a phenomenal run-up in Wednesday's trading.

That's when the Dow shot up 308 points, or 2.4%, its biggest point gain in a year. The Nasdaq Composite  outperformed the rest of the market, soaring 3%, and the S&P 500 surged 2.5%.  The rally was broad based, but led by technology and financials.

Automakers will release their sales for December and 2012 throughout the day. Analysts expect auto sales rose to 14.5 million last year -- the strongest performance since 2007; and they're bullish that sales will top 15 million this year, led by big pick-up trucks and helped by 43 new models coming to market.

Wendy's (NYSE:WEN) no longer thinks a hamburger has to be 99 cents to be a deal. It has beefed up its options called "Right Price Right Size," costing between 99 cents and $1.99. At a time when costs for meat, cheese, and other ingredients are rising, the revamped menu is intended to give budget-minded diners more options, while giving Wendy's more flexibility on pricing.

A report in "The Next Web" says Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has begun testing iPhone 6 and the latest iteration of the iOS operating system, iOS7. App developers have reported finding traces of a new iPhone in their app-usage logs. Usage logs track which devices and operating systems are using apps, as well as the IP addresses being used.

Apple shares gained $16.86, or 3.2%, yesterday, closing at $549.03; they've lost 17% of their value over the past three months, which included the all-important holiday shopping season.

Many retailers will weigh in with December sales today and analysts are expecting a weak performance, as consumers were held back by fiscal cliff worries.