The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 12,507.86) is down 63 points, or 0.5%, as it feels the weight of some lackluster blue-chip earnings and economic reports. Specifically, weekly jobless claims jumped by 78,000 to 439,000 last week, due in large part to the destruction caused by Hurricane Sandy. This latest figure -- which marked an 18-month high -- disappointed economists, who were expecting a rise to just 380,000. Meanwhile, the Philadelphia-area manufacturing sector also felt the sting of Sandy's wrath, as the Philly Fed's manufacturing index fell to -10.7 this month from 5.7 in October. Economists, on average, had predicted a reading of 3.0. Elsewhere, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 18.29) is 0.4 point, or 2.1%, higher.

Here are a few noteworthy stats at midday:

1. The equity put/call volume ratio across all 10 options exchanges checks in at 1.15, with 4.0 million puts traded so far today, compared to 3.4 million calls.
   
   
2. Among the equities with heavy put activity is Carnival Corporation (NYSE:CCL - 37.50), which has lost about 0.9% today. Currently, puts make up 95.2% of the cruise liner's intraday option volume.
   
   
3. The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX - 36.59) stands at 0.78, with calls outstripping puts.
   
   
4. The Nasdaq shows an advance/decline ratio of 0.62, with the number of downward movers easily outpacing the advancers.
   
   
5. Among the Nasdaq's major decliners is Diamond Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:DMND - 15.52), which has shed more than 20% -- and tagged a new multi-year low of $14.50 -- in intraday action, after restating its financial results for the first three quarters of 2012. The report showed a loss of $2.46 per share in the January-to-September period, thanks to charges incurred by the company's accounting scandal earlier this year.
   
   
6. Optimism plummeted during the week ended Nov. 14, according to the latest survey by the American Association of Individual Investors (AAII). The percentage of investors with a bullish view on stocks fell to 28.8% from 38.5%, while the percentage bearish jumped to 48.8% from 39.9%. Meanwhile, the percentage neutral rose to 22.4% from 21.6%.