TORONTO - Surging prices for oil and gold helped drive the Toronto stock market modestly higher Tuesday.

The S&P/TSX composite index gained 38.81 points to 13,425.3, its sixth straight positive close, while the TSX Venture Exchange was ahead 10.03 points to 1,931.94. The Canadian dollar was down 0.25 of a cent to 103.82 cents US.

The energy sector pulled ahead almost one per cent as oil prices jumped on hopes for higher demand. The August contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange was up $1.95 from last Friday's close to US$96.89 a barrel as Barclays Capital increased its forecast for Brent crude by $10 to US$115 a barrel in 2012. Barclays sees China, India, Saudi Arabia and Brazil as the main sources for demand growth.

Suncor Energy (TSX:SU) rose 34 cents to C$38.83 while Canadian Natural Resources (TSX:CNQ) gained 60 cents to $41.51.

Concerns about global debt problems helped push gold prices higher with the August contract on the Nymex ahead $30.10 to US$1,512.70 an ounce. The gold sector advanced as Barrick Gold Corp. (TSX:ABX) climbed 49 cents to C$44.27 while Goldcorp Inc. (TSX:G) advanced 86 cents to $47.54 despite a downgrade by Deutsche Bank from buy to hold.

The consumer staples sector was ahead 0.45 per cent as Quebec-based pharmacy chain Jean Coutu Group Inc. (TSX:PJC.A) reported that its profits increased to $49.9 million or 22 cents a share in the first quarter, beating analyst estimates by two cents a share. Revenue grew to $660.6 million from $646.3 million. It is also selling about 10 per cent of its holdings in American drug store chain Rite Aid Corp. and its shares gained 20 cents to $11.35.

The financial sector was down 0.82 per cent after Moody's Investors Service warned on Tuesday that the scale of problem loans at Chinese banks could be closer to the lower range of estimates it has given previously. The ratings agency said it believes eight to 12 per cent of loans extended by Chinese banks could eventually be classed as non-performing. An earlier view indicated that such problems would be seen in a range of five to eight per cent of loans.

Bank of Montreal (TSX:BMO) fell 57 cents to $61.46 while Royal Bank (TSX:RY) lost 73 cents to $54.85.

The tech sector also weighed on the TSX with Research In Motion Ltd. (TSX:RIM) down 46 cents to $27.84.

The base metals sector was off 0.14 per cent with copper up four cents at US$4.35 a pound in New York. HudBay Minerals (TSX:HBM) gained 48 cents to C$15.14 as the miner said it will go ahead with a plan to spend an additional $144 million to build a new concentrator at its Lalor project, instead of refurbishing the company's existing Snow Lake concentrator.

Teck Resources (TSX:TCK.B) lost 51 cents to $50.85 while Thompson Creek Metals Co. Inc. (TSX:TCM) was down 23 cents to $9.74 after Deutsche Bank also downgraded that company's stock from buy to hold.

Investors looked to a raft of U.S. economic data this week that culminates with the non-farm employment report for June which comes out on Friday. Traders will also take in Canadian employment data for June at the end of the week.

Wednesday will see the release of the monthly non-manufacturing survey from the Institute for Supply Management. Last week's ISM manufacturing survey came in much better than anticipated, raising hopes that the recent soft patch in U.S. economic data may have only been a temporary blip associated with the devastating earthquake in Japan and a sharp runup in energy prices.

That ISM report helped push the Dow up over five per cent last week and also contributed to Monday's 86-point rise on the TSX.

But New York markets failed to find much lift Tuesday from data showing that U.S. factory orders rose by 0.8 per cent in May while April's performance was revised up to negative 0.9 per cent from negative 1.2 per cent.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 12.9 points to 12,569.87. The Nasdaq composite index was 9.74 points higher to 2,825.77 while the S&P 500 index declined 1.79 points to 1,337.88.

Analysts say that investors are also starting to focus attention on what is hoped to be another positive corporate earnings season, which aluminum giant Alcoa kicks off next Monday.

"That to me is a much more predominant catalyst here for equities in the U.S. as opposed to the employment numbers," said Sid Mokhtari, market technician at CIBC World Markets.

"We still think corporate America is still flush with cash and they don't actually want to do anything because of economic worries that they have. The bar is set so low that anything could push us over and create a positive cascading effect."

Earnings from U.S. companies in the S&P 500 index are expected to rise 14 per cent from the same period a year ago, according to FactSet. Revenue is expected to rise 11 per cent.

Meanwhile, the European government debt crisis continued to cast a shadow over markets.

Ratings agency Moody's has downgraded Portugal's government debt to junk status, citing the growing risk the country will need a second rescue package and concerns it will not meet its debt reduction targets. Moody's Investors Service cut its rating on Portugal's debt on Tuesday by one notch to Baa2 from Baa1.

In other corporate news, transportation giant Bombardier Inc. (TSX:BBD.B) was in focus after its Bombardier Transportation division announced it will cut more than 1,400 jobs in Britain after it failed to win a contract for building rail carriages. Bombardier lost out to Germany's Siemens in bidding to build new passenger trains. Its shares drifted 11 cents lower to $6.80.

Simulator builder and flight training company CAE Inc. (TSX:CAE) has been awarded military contracts valued at more than $115 million, including one from the U.S. navy to develop two MH-60R helicopter simulators. Its shares dipped 17 cents to $12.83.