Americans hardly had time to savor the schadenfreude of Vladimir Putin’s financial Chernobyl before North Korea managed to flip the script on the evil Yankee imperialists, it appears.

Now, while Hollywood mourns the loss of creative expression, Kim Jong-un is probably kicking back somewhere on his private island, sucking down his father’s cognac and enjoying the creepy serenade of five indentured toddlers. A celebratory slap-and-tickle fight with Dennis Rodman in a wedding dress can’t be too far behind.

In the midst of all this, the stock market went MAD. As in, it logged a major accumulation day, defined as a session when up volume on the NYSE is at least nine times more than the down volume, according to Urban Carmel of the Fat Pitch blog. And Wednesday’s MAD, the first since October of last year, came in with a lopsided ratio of 17 to 1.

Does the market have yet another V-shaped bounce in it before the end of the year? “[MAD] is telling you that investors overwhelmingly see equities as attractive or oversold at current prices,” Carmel said. “It’s a bullish sign and normally (but not always) initiates a move higher in price.”

Market strategists, for the most part, agree that, despite all the reasons to doubt it, good times lie ahead in the coming year. Their average prediction: 10% higher on the S&P. That’s pretty optimistic, even for these typically bullish characters.

Specifically, our call of the day is chewing on the possibility of a move higher — a huge, Apple-esque move higher — for shares of Google. And why not? It just blew past Russia (more on that below).

Key market gauges

The ruble USDRUB, +0.23% continues to recover from the bloodbath earlier this week, after Russian President Putin uttered soothing words Thursday that the currency will stabilize and the economic pain will pass. But the ruble is a wickedly volatile currency these days, so by the time you read this it could have moved back into red. Gold US:GCG5 is also on the move north and so is crude, which is staging a 3% rally. No MAD taking shape early, but futures on the Dow US:YMZ4 and the S&P US:ESZ4 are indicating another solid day on Wall Street. Asia, ADOW, -1.03% , led by the Nikkei NIK, +0.17% , busted out to the upside. Europe SXXP, -3.24% is also showing off, with gains almost everywhere except Greece.

The quote of the day

“The problem is if you don’t release the movie, you can’t make lemonade out of lemons. By caving in, they may think they’re cutting their losses, but they’re setting an absolutely horrible precedent that makes every other company less safe, moving forward.” — Cybersecurity expert Peter Singer on Sony’s decision to cancel the release of “The Interview.” Read the full interview on Motherboard.

The economy

No Federal Reserve action to look out for today, but there are still some numbers worth paying attention to throughout the morning. Initial weekly unemployment claims dropped 6,000 to 289,000. Still ahead, the Philly Fed manufacturing survey for December. Read: Why Wall Street should pay less attention to Philly Fed

Oh and because you’d like more stiff central-bank reading material, the ECB is going to start publishing minutes of its policy meetings.

Earnings

Oracle ORCL, +1.79% returned to its spot as one of the highlights of the earnings offseason, with a better-than-expected report that’s helping boost the software giant’s stock by more than 5% in the premarket. Jabil Circuit JBL, -1.40% may also rise after its results, while lackluster numbers are weighing on shares of Herman Miller MLHR, -7.96% .

Dunkin’ Brands DNKN, -0.01% has cut its sales growth outlook and shares are down about 7%.

Accenture ACN, -0.96% is also getting a lift after profit and sales beat expectations. Rite Aid RAD, +1.71% is also flying after its results.

Nike NKE, -1.12% is the one to watch later today. Wall Street seems to be pretty optimistic that the shoe maker will be able to successfully navigate negative pressures brought on by currency woes. Read: What to look for in Nike earnings.

The call of the day

Google could be the new “Apple at $400”, according to Aron Pinson of LPS Financial LLC. Apple AAPL, +3.03% , post-split, has more than doubled from those 2013 levels and Pinson laid out a case for Google to potentially do the same. The fundamentals are still sound, and the business model and moat are “to die for,” yet the underperformance has been remarkable. Google carries the third most weight in the PowerShares QQQ index QQQ, +0.38% , and it’s the only one of the top six that’s in the negative this year. The other five, which include Apple and Microsoft MSFT, +1.07% , are up an average of 37%. Very un-Google like. Read his entire bull case.

The buzz

President Obama’s “new approach to Cuba” announcement has travelers giddy about the prospect of visiting the island nation. There are still plenty of restrictions, but the fact that the U.S. will reopen its embassy in Cuba is giving rise to hopes of full and free access. Here's what it could mean for Major League Baseball. Also, fun fact from Fortune: President JFK bought 1,200 Cuban cigars just hours before they officially became illegal.

OnDeck Capital ONDK, -0.63% helped the IPO market end the year with a bang. Shares of the web-based lender priced above the expected range and then proceeded to just keep moving higher. By the looks of the premarket session, some minimal profit-taking could nip away at the gains.

A day after officially dumping suspended CEO Dov Charney, American Apparel US:APP saw its lowly stock jump 19% Wednesday. And buyers are still hovering around the stock this morning amid speculation that the clothing company could be attractive as a takeover candidate.

The chart of the day

This chart from Holger Zschaepitz, a senior editor at the German daily Die Welt, pretty much speaks for itself. One of the bits of fallout from Putin’s huge headache is that Google GOOG, -1.97% , for the first time, is now worth more than the entire Russian stock market. Which one would you buy? See the next section for some advice on that question.

Holger Zschaepitz

Random reads

Madonna cries rape! Artistic rape. And terrorism.

More horrific details from Pakistan.

Some compassion for the duped journalists, please.

Iran is embracing “Western-style” shops.

Don’t mess with Texas. Take “The Interview,” we’ll show “Team America.”

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