The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 13,118.86) is up 45 points, or 0.3%, as Wall Street digests a mixed bag of economic data. Specifically, the Labor Department revealed that nonfarm payrolls rose by a seasonally adjusted 146,000 in November -- topping economists' expectations for an increase of just 80,000. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate edged down to 7.7%, notching its lowest level since December 2008. However, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer sentiment index's preliminary December reading tumbled to 74.5 from last month's final reading of 82.7. This latest figure disappointed economists, who were forecasting a drop to just 82.0. Elsewhere, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 16.29) is 0.3 point, or 1.8%, lower.

Here are a few noteworthy stats at midday:

1. The equity put/call volume ratio across all 10 options exchanges checks in at 0.79, with 3.1 million calls exchanged so far today, compared to 2.5 million puts.
   
   
2. Among the equities with call-skewed activity is American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AXL - 10.36), which has tacked on about 1.5% today. Currently, calls represent 99.9% of the auto-parts manufacturer's intraday option volume.
   
   
3. The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (NYSEARCA:VXX - 30.40) sits at 0.71, with calls outnumbering puts.
   
   
4. The Nasdaq shows an advance/decline ratio of 0.82, with the number of downward movers outpacing the advancers.
   
   
5. Among the Nasdaq's major decliners is Amarin Corporation plc (ADR) (NASDAQ:AMRN - 9.72), which has shed almost 19% in intraday action. The biopharmaceutical company received some bearish brokerage attention today after revealing that it has just begun the task of hiring a sales force to launch its Vascepta pill. The disappointing news triggered price-target cuts at Canaccord Genuity (to $19 from $26) and MKM Partners (to $12 from $15) during the first half of the session.