Wall Street is extending Thursday's Fed-induced rally, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,592.13) is up 52 points, or 0.4%. Meanwhile, a couple of upbeat economic reports may be adding a little fuel to today's fire. U.S. retail sales increased 0.9% last month, while the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index reading for September climbed to 79.2 -- marking its highest level since May. Elsewhere, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 14.59) is 0.5 point, or 3.8%, higher.

Here are a few noteworthy stats at midday:

1. The equity put/call volume ratio across all 10 options exchanges stands at 0.53, with 7.9 million calls traded so far today, compared to 4.2 million puts.
   
   
2. Among the equities with heavy call activity is Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc (NYSE:CCE - 30.91), despite falling about 0.5% today. Currently, calls make up 98.5% of the beverage giant's intraday option volume.
   
   
3. The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX - 8.97) -- which touched a new record low of 8.55 this morning -- sits at 0.93, with calls outstripping puts.
   
   
4. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shows an advance/decline ratio of 3.08, confirming that the number of upward movers more than triples the decliners.
   
   
5. Among the NYSE's major advancers is OfficeMax Incorporated (NYSE:OMX - 7.94), which has gained about 11.7% -- and tagged a fresh annual high of $7.99 -- in intraday action. The office supplier is enjoying a halo lift amid rumors regarding a possible buyout of sector peer Staples, Inc. (NASDAQ:SPLS). OMX also scored a price-target hike to $9 from $7 at Credit Suisse earlier this morning.