In an afternoon of trading on Friday, stocks experienced a decline as major indexes hovered near session lows. Investors were left reeling from a surprising February jobs report, which revealed stronger-than-expected growth. One notable stock that took a hit was artificial intelligence leader Nvidia (NVDA), which finally took a breather and retreated from its all-time high on the stock market today.

According to the Labor Department's report released before the market opened, nonfarm payrolls in February increased by 275,000, surpassing expectations of 190,000. This also exceeded the revised figure of 229,000 for January. Private payrolls rose 223,000, higher than the projected 150,000, while manufacturing payrolls declined by 4,000, contrary to an expected increase of 10,000. Additionally, the unemployment rate rose to 3.9% compared to the forecasted 3.7%.

The jobs report dimmed the prospects for interest rate reductions in the near future, prompting a pullback in the Nasdaq, which lost 1% in Friday's trading session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average attempted to stay afloat but fell 0.1%, while the S&P 500 dipped 0.6%, easing from its all-time highs. The small-cap Russell 2000 also faded by 0.4%.

Trading volume increased on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq compared to the same time on Thursday. The Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) exchange traded fund skidded 1.5%, and the Innovator IBD 50 ETF (FFTY) gave back 1.4%. The 10-year Treasury yield edged lower to 4.09% following the release of the jobs report, and West Texas intermediate crude oil dropped 1.4% to approximately $77.80 per barrel.

Meanwhile, cryptocurrency enthusiasts rejoiced as Bitcoin's price stood above $68,000. Crypto-related stocks such as MicroStrategy (MSTR), Coinbase (COIN), and Marathon Digital (MARA) all climbed around 5% on Friday.

One of the notable names in the stock market, Nvidia, reversed its course and slid more than 5% after reaching a record high of 974 earlier in the session. This marks its largest one-day percentage decrease since October 17, 2023, when it fell 4.68%, according to Dow Jones Market Data.

On a positive note, Apple (AAPL) managed to halt its seven-day sell-off and rose 2.2%, becoming the biggest gainer on the Dow. Additionally, Samsara (IOT) experienced a 10% jump in heavy volume after reporting better-than-expected adjusted fourth-quarter earnings and sales late Thursday. The company also provided a revenue outlook for the current quarter that exceeded analyst views. Samsara's stock broke out of an undefined base with a 36.91 buy point, reaching a 52-week high.

Conversely, MongoDB (MDB) gapped down nearly 6% in heavy trading after beating quarterly profit and revenue estimates for its January-ended quarter. However, the company's outlook for earnings and sales fell below analyst forecasts. Marvell Technology (MRVL) also plummeted over 10% as investors focused on the company's weak forecast for earnings and sales in the current quarter. DocuSign (DOCU) managed to gain over 5% after surpassing fourth-quarter profit and sales expectations, leading several analysts to raise their price targets on the e-document specialist.

Costco (COST) faced a 7% tumble as the club warehouse company reported a mixed fiscal second-quarter report. While earnings beat estimates, sales fell short. Interestingly, the stock had reached an all-time high on Thursday but was the biggest S&P 500 loser in the stock market today.

Overall, as stocks retreated due to the strong jobs report, Nvidia's slip from its all-time high and the mixed performance of several key companies highlighted the volatility in the market. Analysts will closely monitor upcoming economic indicators and corporate performance to assess the potential impact on future market trends.