The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 12,859.90) is up 45 points, or 0.4%, boosted by a better-than-expected fourth-quarter earnings report from Dow component The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD). The upbeat earnings news has even managed to steal a bit of the spotlight away from the much-discussed "fiscal cliff," albeit temporarily. Elsewhere, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 16.32) is 0.4 point, or 2.2%, lower.

Here are a few noteworthy stats at midday:

1. The equity put/call volume ratio across all 10 options exchanges checks in at 1.02, with 3.1 million puts exchanged so far today, compared to 3.0 million calls.
   
   
2. Among the equities with put-skewed activity is MetroPCS Communications Inc (NYSE:PCS - 10.33), despite tacking on nearly 3% today. Currently, puts make up 92.6% of the security's intraday option volume.
   
   
3. The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX - 34.17) stands at 1.00, with calls equaling puts.
   
   
4. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shows an advance/decline ratio of 0.98, with the number of decliners just slightly outpacing the upward movers.
   
   
5. Among the NYSE's major advancers is Dick's Sporting Goods Inc (NYSE:DKS - 51.17), which has gained more than 5% in intraday action after revealing third-quarter earnings results that topped analysts' projections.