July 28 (Reuters) - Futures tracking Canada's blue-chip
stocks were muted on Tuesday, as investors assessed corporate
earnings and monitored developments in the Middle East conflict.
September futures tracking the resource-heavy S&P/TSX
Composite index were flat at 2,102.90 points at 6:22
a.m. ET.
Here are some details:
* Tech firms and real estate companies, including Celestica ( CLS )
and TFI International ( TFII ), beat second-quarter
adjusted earnings estimates amid a lineup of results by other
companies late on Monday.
* Meanwhile, oil prices touched more than a one-week low as
hopes for a resolution to the U.S.-Iran conflict grew.
* Brent crude traded around $85.86, down 2.1%, while
West Texas Intermediate crude slipped 1.8% to $80.52 per
barrel.
* Gold prices also retreated against a firmer dollar, while
investors eye the Federal Reserve meeting later this week for
clues on the U.S. central bank's decision on interest rates.
Investors largely expect rates to be left unchanged this week.
* Spot gold fell 1.3%, while silver dropped
2.1%.
* In company news, oil and gas exploration firm Tamarack
Valley posted a rise in second-quarter revenue on
higher oil prices.
* Focus is also on fresh corporate earnings, with multiple
miners and energy firms, including First Quantum,
Cardinal Energy, set to report quarterly results after
the bell.
* Separately, Brookfield has raised around $2
billion from strategic anchor investors, including Saudi
Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, for a private equity fund that
will invest in companies in the kingdom and wider Middle East.
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