Earnings, Visa Have Dow Jones Industrial Average Eyeing 18K

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is trekking higher -- and flirting with the 18,000 millennium mark -- as traders digest the latest batch of earnings reports. Helping the index pare a portion of Tuesday's losses are a big earnings win from McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) and optimism about a potential foray into China for Visa Inc (NYSE:V). In other news, existing homes sales for March outstripped the Street's consensus estimate, and reached their highest level since September 2013.

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

• Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc. (NYSE:CMG) is singing the post-earnings blues.
• On the flip side, these 3 stocks are rallying after trips to the confessional.
• 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 activity is Organovo Holdings Inc (NYSEMKT:ONVO), with the contracts crossing at five times what's expected at this point in the day. Bullish betting is accelerated on news the company has entered into a research agreement with Merck Sharp and Dohme Corp., which has sent the shares 18.6% higher to $5.30. ONVO's May 6 call is seeing likely buy-to-open activity, as speculators wager on the security to topple $6 by the close on Friday, May 15, when front-month options expire.

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

Angie's List Inc (NASDAQ:ANGI) is among the biggest winners on the Nasdaq, surging 13.3% to trade at $6.97 -- and muscling back into positive year-to-date territory. Sparking the upside move was an unexpected quarterly profit -- as well as potential short-covering activity, considering more than one-fifth of the stock's float is sold short.

Cree, Inc. (NASDAQ:CREE) is one of the biggest decliners on the Nasdaq, dropping 9% to trade at $32.20. The shares are getting punished by the brokerage bunch following a fiscal third-quarter earnings miss, as both Deutsche Bank and Canaccord Genuity slashed their price targets to $31 from $34. As mentioned previously, CREE is no stranger to post-earnings downside.

The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) is down 0.2 point, or 1.8%, at 13.01.

Today's put/call volume ratio on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is 1.79, with puts nearly doubling calls. SPY was last seen up 0.4 point, or 0.2%, at $210.04.