The S&P and Dow closed at two-month highs Friday, while posting their third consecutive weekly rise, fueled by an oil-induced rally in the energy and materials sectors. A better-than-expected nonfarm payrolls for February underscored continued improvement in the economy, while also raising expectations for at least another interest-rate increase this year by the Federal Reserve. The Dow added 63 to 17,007, the S&P tacked on 7 to 2,000 and the Nasdaq rose 10 to 4,717.
The first seaborne export of natural gas last week from the continental U.S. is a game changer. Coming just two months after another major milestone-the lifting of a decades-long ban on the export of crude oil-it is tempting to draw parallels between the two. But regular cargoes of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, from the U.S. may be a far more significant event for the world energy market than oil, even if they are initially inconsequential for the domestic one.
A group of large global investors hopes a new stock index will prove that companies with good governance and focused on long-term goals will produce higher returns for shareholders. Six global pension plans and sovereign-wealth funds debuted the S&P Long-Term Value Creation Global Index at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, an index they said represents companies that can be role models for others.
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