Energy companies can save every economy, haha. No, really, the variations of the energy companies are always giving a tone in the day-to-day news of the markets, being driven by (volatile?) energy and resources prices driving up and down. That's drove Asian markets higher today while United States was sleeping. A closer look: NIKKEI is at 18,322.98 pts, with +0.75% and +136.88 pts, meanwhile Hang Sang Index has +3.13%, or +684.14 pts at 22,515.76 pts. Australian's ASX 200 from S&P is at 5,197 pts, meaning +0.59% and +30.47. Shangai Composite from China have +0.50% with +15.19 pts or a total of 3,053.32 pts, and finally, KOSPI have 2,005 pts or +0.76% or +15.19 pts. Do you think energy markets is too much volatile? Should they be "ruled out" from stocks numbers?
Counter question: do you know of a better way than having a free market find prices? Take the EU. They used to subsidize tobacco in Greece. They would have fields of peaches and dig a huge hole next to them. The harvest would get bulldozed! Germany had 20 years' frozen meat... and the manure is polluting the ground water. But hey, let's subsidize farming like crazy, then pay to destroy the surplus...