New York, NY – The Dow Jones and other major indexes closed out Friday’s session with mixed results, capping off a week of solid gains. Nvidia saw an uptick in its stock price due to bullish sentiments from Wall Street analysts, while Tesla faced challenges with lower factory output in China. As lawmakers worked diligently to prevent a government shutdown, earnings reports from Nike and Lululemon had a negative impact on retail stocks.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average experienced a 0.8% decrease on Friday, retracting from its record high on Thursday. Analysts from Investors Intelligence suggested that the seasonal strength post-Ides of March may have already been factored into the market, leading to a potential increase in “chop and churn.”
Similarly, the S&P 500 saw a 0.1% decline after reaching a record high on Thursday. The technology and communication services sectors performed well, but the real estate sector lagged behind amidst a fall in Treasury yields. The Nasdaq, on the other hand, witnessed a 0.2% increase, although it showed signs of stalling after early gains dissipated. Additionally, small caps on the Russell 2000 dropped by 1.3% by the end of Friday.
House Speaker Mike Johnson successfully steered efforts to avert a government shutdown by passing a $1.2 trillion bill in the House. However, some Republican lawmakers rebelled and attempted to remove Johnson from his position. On the stock market, decliners outnumbered advancers by almost 2-to-1 on both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq, indicating bearish sentiment.
Technology giant Nvidia saw a 2% rise in its stock price following positive outlooks from UBS analysts post its artificial intelligence conference. Conversely, Tesla’s stock dipped further below the 50-day moving average due to production cuts at its Shanghai plant, sparking concerns about slowing demand for electric vehicles in key markets like China and Europe.
In terms of individual stocks, Apple rebounded from a significant sell-off on Thursday, gaining 0.5% despite facing an antitrust lawsuit from the Justice Department. Disney’s stock fell, while Merck’s stock rose, both hovering near buy points according to IBD MarketSurge pattern recognition tools. Nike’s stock offered an in-line outlook for 2024 but anticipated slower growth in the first half of 2025, resulting in a gap down from the 50-day moving average and making it the worst-performing stock on the Dow.
In the earnings movers section, Lululemon saw a decline below the 200-day line, while FedEx experienced a significant surge and broke out from a cup base after surprising earnings results. Worthington Steel held half its gains post a 20% jump following its third-quarter report, and ServiceNow set up in a flat base with a buy point. Additionally, Duolingo and Arista Networks showed promising patterns with potential for growth, according to Wall Street analysts.
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