Record high oil prices and some positive U.S. economic news Tuesday helped keep markets in positive territory, although just barely, for the fourth day in a row on Bay Street and for the second consecutive session on Wall Street.

In Canada, the S&P/TSX composite index finished the day ahead by just 1.06 points to 8,418.38, while the junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 6.77 points to 1,603.22.

In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 14.2 points to 10,202.65, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index ended ahead 4.03 points to 1,990.77 and the S&P 500 was up slightly more than half a point to 1,121.24.

One again, the catalyst was rising energy prices, which was good news for producers but not for large consumers. U.S. light crude closed up US$2.44, or by more than 6%, after setting an record high of US$42.38 struck toward the close following an attack on Saturday by suspected al Qaeda militants on the offices of Western companies in the Saudi oil city of Khobar. That was the highest price in 21 years of crude oil trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

There was also some good economic news that helped cheer investors. The U.S. Commerce Department reported the value of new building projects rose by 1.3% in April from March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of US$970.4 billion, the highest level on record. In a second report, the Institute for Supply Management said its index of manufacturing activity rose to 62.8 in May, up from 62.4 in April, ahead of economists’ expectations.

Investors may also have been anticipating some more good news on Friday when the key data on jobs is released. National Bank Financial Group said it is expecting a strong report.

OPEC ministers are to meet Thursday in Beirut to discuss the possibility of increasing production. Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi said Tuesday that OPEC will do “its best” to ensure that crude supplies are adequate to meet global demand.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil producer, has already raised its output to 9.1 million barrels a day, well above its OPEC quota of 7.638 million barrels a day. The kingdom has proposed that OPEC formally raise its output ceiling of 23.5 million barrels per day to help bring prices down.

On Bay Street, the energy and diversified metals and mineral sectors led the way, gaining 0.68% and 0.83%, respectively. Financials were off 0.19%.

In corporate news, Bank of Nova Scotia shares fell 8¢ to $34.12 after it reported its second-quarter profit jumped 32% to $786 million, a record that prompted the bank to increase its dividend.

Scotiabank said Tuesday its profit for the quarter ended April 30 was worth 77¢ a share. In the same 2003 quarter, Scotiabank made $596 million, or 57¢ per share. Revenue increased to $2.8 billion from $2.7 billion. The results included a $125-million gain from the sale of a portion of the bank’s interest in Japan’s Shinsei Bank. But Scotiabank CEO Rick Waugh said the improved results can also be attributed to an improved economy and the reduction of credit losses and impaired loans.