The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 12,947.44) is up 110.6 points, or 0.9%, at last check, with the blue-chip barometer looking to claim its first daily close atop its 20-day moving average since Oct. 18. A round of well-received global economic data, as well as indications of a positive start to the holiday shopping season, have traders expressing a risk-on attitude in today's shortened session. Conversely, the CBOE Market Volality Index (VIX - 15.11) has shed 0.2 point, or 1.3%.

Here are a few noteworthy stats at midday:

1. The equity put/call volume ratio across all 10 options exchanges stands at 0.73, with 2.29 million calls changing hands so far today, compared to 1.69 million puts.


2. Among equities seeing heavy call activity is Research In Motion Limited (USA) (NASDAQ:RIMM - 11.59), which has surged roughly 13% following a bullish brokerage note. Calls currently make up 63.8% of the BlackBerry maker's intraday option volume.


3. The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX - 30.67) sits at 1.42, with puts slightly outpacing calls.


4. The advance/decline ratio on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) arrives at 4.17. In other words, for every one stock falling in today's session, there are more than four equities rising.


5. The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD - 64.55) is among the NYSE's major advancers, with the Dow component up roughly 0.7% at last check. The stock has been in a solid uptrend for some time now, pushed steadily aloft by its 40-day moving average. In fact, HD tagged a 12-year high of $64.60 in today's abbreviated session.