The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 12,823.82) is up 222 points, or 1.8%, thanks to some much-needed upbeat news out of the debt-riddled euro zone. Elsewhere, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 17.99) is down 1.7 points, or 8.7%.

Here are a few noteworthy stats at midday:

1. The equity put/call volume ratio across all nine options exchanges stands at 0.90, with 4.0 million calls changing hands so far today, compared to 3.6 million puts.
   
   
2. Among the equities with call-heavy activity is medical supplies manufacturer Baxter International Inc. (NYSE:BAX - 52.75), which has added about 2.3% so far today. Currently, calls make up 97.8% of the stock's intraday option volume.
   
   
3. The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) sits at 1.54, with puts comfortably outpacing calls.
   
   
4. The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) shows an advance/decline ratio of 6.88, signaling that the number of upward movers outstrips the decliners by a margin of nearly seven to one.
   
   
5. Among the NYSE's major advancers is Constellation Brands Inc (NYSE:STZ - 26.67), which has soared by about 22.6% in intraday trading -- and tagged a new multi-year high of $26.99 in the process. The adult beverage behemoth announced that it will purchase the remaining 50% stake of Crown Imports LLC for around $1.85 billion from Anheuser-Busch InBev (NYSE:BUD).