GOP Victory Propels Dow Jones Industrial Average to New Highs

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:DJI) has resumed its quest for new highs, peaking at 17,481.32, as Wall Street celebrates a Republican-controlled Congress -- which many view as a favorable backdrop for business. Furthermore, Automatic Data Processing (ADP) said the private sector added 230,000 jobs in October -- marking the biggest increase since June, and fueling optimism ahead of Friday's closely watched nonfarm payrolls report. Against this backdrop, speculators are essentially shrugging off unimpressive data on the U.S. services sector, with the Dow up 75 points, or 0.4%, and the S&P 500 Index (SPX) extending its tradition of post-midterm upside.

Continue reading for more on today's market, including:

• The stock that has short sellers running scared
• The Internet tag team touching new highs
• Plus ... Checking in on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY), and other noteworthy stats at midday.

Among the stocks with notable call volume is Yamana Gold Inc. (USA) (NYSE:AUY), which is bucking the broad-market trend higher, declining in step with gold futures. The shares of AUY were last seen 3% lower at $3.66, and earlier touched a six-year nadir of $3.53, with selling pressure exacerbated by a price-target cut and "sell" rating at Dundee. AUY call volume is running at seven times the typical intraday pace, and the stock's 30-day at-the-money implied volatility hit a fresh annual high, hinting at escalating demand for short-term contracts. Nevertheless, the April 5 call is most popular by a mile, though it appears some speculators are selling the calls to open to bet on a long-term ceiling at $5.

For more midday statistics and stocks on the move, head to page 2.

The top performer on the Big Board thus far is Coupons.com Inc (NYSE:COUP), which is up 28.6% at $16, thanks to an earnings win. The stock could be enjoying a short-squeeze situation, as short interest represents more than six sessions' worth of pent-up buying demand, at COUP's average pace of trading.

Among the equities touching new highs is Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), which peaked at $48.24 -- a 14-year acme -- and was last seen 2.3% higher at $48.14, much to the delight of recent options buyers. YHOO continues to ride a halo lift from Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA) -- of which YHOO owns a stake -- which is assailing new heights after a solid earnings debut.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) started out in the red, but is now flat at 14.90. The "fear gauge" is still staring up at its 10-day moving average, which hasn't been toppled on a daily closing basis since Oct. 17.

Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.53, with puts outnumbering calls. The broad-market proxy is following the SPX higher, up 0.5% at 202.04, after touching a fresh all-time high of 202.59.