The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 12,746.84) has surged nearly 160 points, or 1.3%, after President Barack Obama assured investors yesterday that he is confident Washington will be able to get its fiscal house in order. Adding to the risk-on mentality is this morning's double-dose of positive housing data. Specifically, existing home sales in October rose by a better-than-expected 2.1%, and homebuilder sentiment jumped to its loftiest perch in six years. Conversely, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX -15.79) has drifted 0.6 point, or 3.8%, lower.

Here are a few noteworthy stats at midday:

1. The equity put/call volume ratio across all 10 options exchanges stands at 0.66, with 3.82 million calls changing hands so far today, compared to 2.52 million puts.


2. Among equities seeing heavy call activity is OmniVision Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:OVTI - 14.04), which has soared 5.1% in today's bullishly biased session. Calls currently account for 91.9% of the semiconductor concern's intraday option volume.


3. The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX - 32.63) is at 1.21, with 121 puts exchanged for every 100 calls.


4. The advance/decline ratio on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) arrives at 8.20. Simply put, for every one stock losing ground in today's session, there are eight equities that are pushing higher.


5. Among the NYSE's major advancers is Lowe's Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW - 34.02). The stock has added roughly 6.4%, following this morning's well-received earnings report. In fact, the home improvement supplier hit a five-year high of $34.50 right out of the gate.