The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI - 12,527.26) is down 27 points, or 0.2%, erasing its earlier gains as investors fretted over details for the newly approved Spanish banking bailout deal and the upcoming election in Greece. Elsewhere, the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX - 21.47) is down 0.2 point, or 1.1%.

Here are a few noteworthy stats at midday:

1. The equity put/call volume ratio across all nine options exchanges rests at 0.98, with 2.54 million calls changing hands so far today, compared to 2.50 million puts.
2. Among the equities with heavy call activity is Duke Energy (DUK - 23.22), which had advanced by 0.3% so far today. The energy behemoth cruised to a new 11-year high of $23.32 earlier in the session after Credit Suisse upgraded the stock to "outperform" from "neutral" and raised its price target to $25.50 from $22. DUK confirmed that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission "conditionally approved" a merger with sector peer Progress Energy Inc (PGN - 60.02).
3. The put/call volume ratio on the iPath S&P 500 VIX Short-Term Futures ETN (VXX) stands at 1.18, with puts outstripping calls.
4. The Nasdaq shows an advance/decline ratio of 0.79, signaling that the number of downward movers comfortably outpaces the advancers.
5. Among the Nasdaq's major decliners is Diamond Foods Inc (DMND - 18.86), which has shed about 6.5% in intraday action. The food-products company was issued a delisting warning after revealing it won't meet the deadline for filing late quarterly reports. The negative headline pressured the security to a new multi-year low of $18.55.
6. Research in Motion Limited (RIMM) charts are starting to look interesting on the long side. See what Bernie Schaeffer has to say about RIMM shares in Schaeffer on Charts.