Dow Jones Industrial Average Up Triple Digits on ECB Stimulus

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (INDEXDJX:DJI) has shot higher following the European Central Bank's (ECB) quantitative easing announcement. Specifically, ECB President Mario Draghi said the central bank is committed to buying nearly $70 billion worth of bonds every month, from March 2015 through September 2016. At last check, the Dow is 108.2 points, or 0.6%, higher, despite a post-earnings sell-off on shares of blue chip American Express Company (NYSE:AXP). Elsewhere, initial jobless claims dropped 10,000 last week, but failed to meet economists' expectations for an even steeper decline, while weekly crude inventories jumped by more than forecast -- sending oil futures plunging below $47.

Continue reading for more on today's market -- and don't miss:

• 3 stocks that may present a buying opportunity.
• How gold's recovery and extreme skepticism could accelerate this stock's upward momentum.
• 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 option volume is rare earths producer Molycorp Inc (NYSE:MCP), with volume running at about 34 times the typical intraday rate. The shares have plummeted 11.6% to trade at $0.41 -- and bottomed at a record low of $0.40 earlier -- amid news that China will remove rare earth export taxes in May. Digging deeper, it looks like one trader bought to open a block of 25,000 June 0.50 puts, while another sold to open a nearly 29,000-contract lot of March 0.50 calls.

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

Air transportation name Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) is among the Big Board's biggest gainers. The stock has advanced 7.3% to trade at $44.86 -- and earlier touched a record high of $45.09 -- on a fourth-quarter earnings beat. LUV has now more than doubled in value on a year-over-year basis.

Handset maker BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY) is one of the biggest winners on the Nasdaq, thanks to reports that a Samsung takeover may still be in the cards. At last check, BBRY was 8.7% higher at $10.79.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is down 1.6 points, or 8.4%, at 17.26, as U.S. stocks rally.

Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.26, with puts outweighing calls. At last check, SPY is up 1.3 points, or 0.6%, at $204.37.