Midday Report: Morgan Stanley Drives Goodyear Higher; Private Payrolls Augur Solid Jobs Report

Wall Street held onto slight gains through the morning session after a stronger reading on private payrolls bode well for Friday's jobs report. A reading on manufacturing activity also bested estimates. Goodyear Tire (GT) - Get Report led the S&P 500 after Morgan Stanley gave a two-notch upgrade to OVERWEIGHT and more than doubled its price target. Analysts believe recent trends support tire volumes and pricing. Crude oil added to gains after U.S. crude supplies declined for their eighth week in a row. The EIA reported domestic inventories fell by 6.4 million barrels in the past week. Dollar General (DG) - Get Report rose following a better-than-expected first quarter. The discount chain also increased its full-year net sales growth target by 100 basis points on both the low- and high-end.