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By Nivedita Balu

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 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 and

Tesla 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 ( TECK ) and

First Quantum Minerals 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 were among big

gainers with a 2.2% rise, tracking gold prices.

Energy subindex fell 0.95% as oil prices slightly

dipped.

Among individual stocks, Osisko Development rose

1.4% after the mineral exploration company announced a $450

million credit agreement with funds advised by Appian Capital

Advisory.