July 21 (Reuters) - Canada's commodity-heavy main stock index closed flat on Monday, as investors await earnings and look for potential trade deals between the U.S. and its key trading partners.
The S&P/TSX composite index (.GSPTSE), closed up 2.99 points, or 0.01%, at 27,317.00 and touched a new record high of 27,448.51.
In the latest trade development, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said on Sunday he was confident that Washington could secure a trade deal with the EU, but August 1 is a hard deadline for tariffs to kick in.
However, EU diplomats said the 27-member bloc is exploring a broader set of possible counter-measures against the U.S., as hopes for a breakthrough deal with Washington dwindled.
Traders awaited clarity on U.S.-EU trade talks and looked for additional deals from major U.S. trading partners ahead of President Donald Trump's August 1 tariff deadline.
"The market is now waiting for earnings and that's going to be the big thing... everyone is just curious to see just how they go," said Greg Taylor, chief investment officer at PenderFund Capital Management.
In the U.S., several industrial and tech firms are set to report their earnings this week, with Alphabet (GOOGL.O), and Tesla (TSLA.O), kicking off the results season for the "Magnificent Seven" stocks.
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq notched record high closes ahead of quarterly results.
Canadian miners including Teck Resources (TECKb.TO), and First Quantum Minerals <FM.TO> will report quarterly results north of the border this week.
Meanwhile, the Bank of Canada in its quarterly survey said Canadian businesses saw less chance of a worst-case tariffs scenario but remained cautious while keeping hiring and investment under check.
On the TSX, materials stocks (.GSPTTMT), were among big gainers with a 2.2% rise, tracking gold prices.
Energy subindex (.SPTTEN), fell 0.95% as oil prices slightly dipped.
Among individual stocks, Osisko Development (OR.TO), rose 1.4% after the mineral exploration company announced a $450 million credit agreement with funds advised by Appian Capital Advisory.
Reporting by Sanchayaita Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shreya Biswas and Marguerita Choy
