U.S. equity benchmarks ended Friday on a mixed note, with both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite in the red but the Dow Jones Industrial Average slightly higher as Hurricane Irma is set to make landfall in Florida over the weekend. Tensions with North Korea also weighed on investors’ minds, as the market fears the country will test a ballistic missile to commemorate its founding on Saturday. The S&P 500 slipped 0.1% to 2,462 thanks to weaker energy stocks–down 0.6% on the week–while the tech-focused Nasdaq Composite Index weakened 0.7% to 6,357, down 1.2% on the week. The Dow finished the week more or less flat at 21,789, as strong gains in the financials sector outweighed losses in energy and information technology. On the week, the Dow dipped 0.9%. In individual stocks, Equifax Inc. shares plunged 13.7% following the news of a data breach affecting 143 million Americans’ personal information, such as social security, drivers license and credit card numbers.
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