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A popular exchange-traded fund specializing in long-dated Treasurys on Thursday attracted the most money in a single day since May 2011, data from FactSet shows. The iShares 20+ year Treasury Bond ETF drew in $664.7 million of investment, more than doubling the total amount of inflows this year. Investors rushed into the ETF in the wake of geopolitical concerns in North Korea, the potential damages from two hurricanes, and soft inflation readings. Traders are now pricing in a diminished chance of another rate hike this year, briefly pushing the likelihood of a December rate increase down to 22% on Thursday. Moreover, European Central Bank President Mario Draghi punted forward a key decision on tapering its bond purchases to October’s policy meeting, spurring a rally in U.S. government paper
and bonds of eurozone member nations.

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Cybersecurity stocks traded higher Friday following the revelation of a massive data breach of credit reporting agency Equifax Inc. late Thursday. Shares of Symantec Corp. surged 4.1% to $31.84, while CyberArk Software Ltd. shares gained 2.6% to $41.92. The ETFMG Prime Cyber Security ETF rose 0.7% to $30.03. Meanwhile, shares of Proofpoint Inc. advanced 1.9% to $93.44, Barracuda Networks Inc. shares rose 1.4% to $24.48, FireEye Inc. shares gained 1.4% to $15.98, Check Point Software Technologies Ltd. shares rose 1.5% to $113.05, and Palo Alto Networks Inc. shares rose 1.2% to $145.43 at last check. Shares of Equifax plunged more than 13% after the company revealed that sensitive data on up to 143 million U.S. customers may have been accessed by hackers.

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Funds targeting U.S. investment-grade corporate credits snapped 37 straight weeks of inflows for the period ending Sep. 6, according to data-provider Lipper. U.S., investment-grade corporate funds saw net outflows of $43 million in the most recent week, ending an eight-month period that saw those funds attract $641 million. The impressive run comes amid U.S. corporations releasing a torrent of new supply in the low interest-rate environment, with more than $1 trillion worth of debt issued this year. Analysts suggested that debt investors could be taking the opportunity to take risk off the table this week by selling assets amid stretched valuations and growing geopolitical fears, including potential conflict in the Korean Peninsula. Spreads for investment-grade bonds against equivalent Treasurys, a gauge of how much yield investors demand for buying riskier corporate credits versus so-called safe assets, currently resides slightly above historical lows at around 1.5 percentage points, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “Hurricane Irma, global central bank policies, US fiscal discussions, and geopolitical risks weighed on investors’ conscience,” wrote Jody Lurie, director of fixed income strategy for Janney Montgomery Scott.

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The House of Representatives passed legislation Friday extending the U.S. debt limit and government funding through Dec. 8. The bill, already approved by the Senate, now goes to President Donald Trump for signature. It also contains $15.25 billion in disaster aid to help with recovery efforts after Hurricane Harvey, and anticipated damage from Hurricane Irma, which is now bearing down on Florida. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney pressed Republicans to vote for the deal on Friday, but 90 voted against it. House conservatives were reportedly angry the debt-limit extension wasn’t coupled with spending cuts.

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Analysts at UBS lowered their 2017 and 2018 earnings estimates for Walt Disney Co. , also dropping the 12-month price target to $122 from $126 on Friday after Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger told investors that the company’s earnings growth would be stagnant. During a Bank of America media, communications and entertainment conference on Thursday, Iger told those in attendance that 2017 earnings would be roughly in line with the prior year’s earnings, lowering expectations from previous guidance of modest growth. Disney shares took a 5% slide during intraday trading on Thursday following Iger’s comments. The lower earnings expectations, Iger said, are due, in part, to expenses tied to Disney’s BAMTech investment for its stand alone streaming service and impacts Disney parks are seeing from Hurricane Irma. Lead UBS analyst Doug Mitchelson also mentioned in a note to investors lower ratings at Disney’s ABC network and tough content and licensing comparisons. “Many investors are questioning how Disney’s valuation can expand while estimates are coming down due to investments in the future,” Mitchelson wrote, noting the irony as investors have demanded media companies stop licensing content and build streaming platforms of their own. “This is compounded by the uncertainty as to the pace of decline of the pay TV bundle and the impacts of video fragmentation. As Disney officially starts its streaming shift, Mitchelson said it’s critical that ESPN demonstrate pricing power, that cable losses are shored up by virtual multichannel video programming distributors, that content and the parks business continues executing, and that Disney displays cost discipline. Disney shares have declined nearly 7% in the year to date, while the S&P 500 index is up 10% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average is up more than 10%.

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The Dow Jones Industrial Average on Friday was garnering a early morning lift from shares of Goldman Sachs, helping the benchmark reverse opening losses. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s stock was contributing a roughly 20-point rise to the price-weighted Dow. Goldman’s shares were up $3.07, or 1.4%, leading blue-chip advancers. Goldman is attempting to pare what has been its worst weekly loss since the week ended July 21, according to FactSet data, as financial stocks have been battered by lowered expectations for interest-rate hikes and shrinking bond yields, with the 10-year Treasury note around 2.06%, holding around its lowest levels since November. Those factors can undercut a bank’s business model. A popular way to wager on the financial sector, the Financial Select Sector SPDR ETF , was facing its worst weekly decline, down 2.7%, since the period ended March 24. Goldman is one of the most influential components in the price-weighted Dow by dint of its $219 share price. In other benchmarks, the S&P 500 index was off 0.1% at 2,463, while the Nasdaq Composite Index was down 0.2% at 6,382.

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Chili’s, the Brinker International Inc. restaurant chain, said Friday that it is cutting its menu by 40% in order to focus on its core menu items: burgers, ribs and fajitas. The company said it started in 1975 with 25 menu items, a list grew to 125 by January 2017 as the chain has followed consumer trends. The 75-item menu will be available nationwide on September 18. Brinker shares are up 1.8% in Friday trading, but down 38.6% for the year so far. The S&P 500 index is up 10.1% for 2017 so far.

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Shares of video game makers got a boost Friday, after Goldman Sachs said the sector was entering the “halcyon days of gaming’s digital age.” Analyst Christopher Merwin started coverage of the sector with an attractive rating: “The video game publishers are in the midst of a renaissance, as they transition to more predictable, higher-margin, cash-generative growth stories,” Merwin wrote in a note to clients. “The digital shift could add up to 5 [percentage] points of margin in the next 3 years.” Electronics Arts Inc. was Merwin’s favorite of the sector, as he initiated the stock with a buy rating and price target of $136, and added it to Goldman’s Americas conviction list. He also started Take-Two Interactive Software Inc. at buy with a $118 stock price target, Activision Blizzard Inc. at neutral with a $65 price target and Zynga Inc. at neutral with a $3.90 price target. Shares of Electronic Arts slipped 0.1% in morning trade, while Take-Two edged up 0.1%, Activision eased 0.8% and Zynga gained 1.1%. For context, the S&P 500 ticked down 0.1%.

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The Mexican peso slipped against the U.S. dollar on Friday after the strongest earthquake in a century, measuring 8.1 on the Richter scale, hit Mexico late Thursday. At least 20 people are confirmed to have died due to the quake, and a tsunami warning has been issued for various Central American countries. The dollar strengthened to buy 17.6945 pesos Friday morning, up from 17.6707 late on Thursday in New York. Prior to the natural disaster, the peso experienced some volatility caused by the renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The renegotiation of terms is thought to hit Mexico the hardest.

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