In late afternoon trading on Friday, the Dow Jones and other major indexes showed a mixed performance as Nvidia shares rose on optimistic projections from Wall Street analysts, while Tesla struggled with lower factory output in China. Additionally, investors kept a close eye on lawmakers' efforts to avert a government shutdown, and earnings reports from Nike and Lululemon posed challenges for the retail sector.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a decline of 0.6%. Although the blue-chip index had reached a new record high on Thursday, it trimmed some of those gains by the end of the trading session. Market analysts from Investors Intelligence suggested that the market may have already factored in the seasonal strength following the Ides of March, potentially leading to more volatility in the near future.

The S&P 500 also dipped by 0.1% after reaching its own all-time high the previous day. The technology and communication services sectors performed well, while a decline in Treasury yields did not offer much support to the real estate sector, which underperformed among the S&P 500 sectors. On the other hand, the Nasdaq saw a gain of 0.1%, although it displayed some sluggishness on Thursday after an initial surge. Meanwhile, small-cap stocks on the Russell 2000 dipped by 1.1% on Friday afternoon.

In political news, House Speaker Mike Johnson successfully led efforts to prevent a government shutdown at midnight. The House passed a $1.2 trillion bill, which now awaits Senate approval; however, the measure faced opposition from some Republican lawmakers.

Even though trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq was relatively light compared to the previous day, decliners outnumbered advancers by nearly 2-to-1 on both exchanges, signaling bearish sentiment among investors.

Among the standout performers, Nvidia shares rose over 2% following positive sentiment from UBS analysts, who predicted further growth after the completion of Nvidia's artificial intelligence conference. It is worth noting that Nvidia is included in Investor's Business Daily's model portfolio, IBD Leaderboard.

In contrast, Tesla shares continued to slide below their 50-day moving average as the company announced reduced output at its Shanghai plant. This development raised concerns about potentially sluggish demand for electric vehicles in China and Europe.

Other notable stocks included Apple, Disney, and Merck from the Dow Jones index. Disney shares fell, while Merck experienced a rise and both stocks are currently in buy zones, according to IBD MarketSurge pattern recognition tools.

Earnings reports played a significant role in today's market activity. Lululemon shares fell below their 200-day moving average and undercut their base due to a lower-key outlook. FedEx, however, enjoyed a surge in its stock price as it broke out from a cup base following better-than-expected earnings. Worthington Steel saw a 20% gain after its third-quarter report, and ServiceNow is currently in a flat base with a buy point at 815.32. Additionally, Duolingo is in a cup-with-handle pattern, with a buy point set at 241.86, as Wall Street predicts substantial earnings growth of 872% in 2024. Finally, Arista Networks was in the buy range from a flat base with a buy point of 292.66.

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