Equities Flat at Open

The TSX Composite Index deleted 3.27 points to begin Friday at 25,695.24. The Canadian dollar eked higher 0.2 cents to 70.66 cents U.S. early Friday. In corporate news, pipeline operator TC Energy beat estimates for fourth-quarter profit on Friday. TC shares lost $1.49, or 2.2%, to $65.71.ON BAYSTREET The TSX Venture Exchange eked up 1.59 points to 649.51Eight of the 12 subgroups were higher in the first hour, with real-estate soaring 1.2%, telecoms better by 0.8%, and utilities up 0.6%.The four laggards were weighed most by gold and consumer discretionary stocks, each down 1.2%, and information technology issues, off 0.9%. ON WALLSTREET Stocks were little changed on Friday in a pause from a strong performance this week, as investors weighed the latest on the global trade and inflation fronts.The Dow Jones Industrials backed off 12.4 points to commence trading Friday at 44,699.03The S&P 500 index gained 7.86 points to 6,122.93The tech-heavy NASDAQ added 35.92 points to 19,981.57. The major averages are on pace to end the week higher. The S&P 500 is set to gain 1.5% on the week and the Dow is on pace for a gain of 0.9%. The NASDAQ is 2.2% higher this week.On Thursday, President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on laying out a plan to impose levies on goods from countries with duties on U.S. products. The lack of immediate tariffs boosted sentiment, which saw equity markets move higher as investors also piled into technology stocks.While markets managed to end the previous trading session higher one expert expresses the opinion that this relief and positive momentum over a pause in reciprocal tariffs may be short-lived.Prices for the 10-year Treasury won new life, lowering yields to 4.47% from Thursday’s 4.53%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.Oil prices gained 17 cents to $71.46 U.S. a barrel. Prices for gold subsided $10.20 an ounce to $2,934.40 U.S.