S&P 500 top movers: Financial stocks post strong gains, energy shares slump

• Surging US T-bond yields support financial shares on Thursday.
• Energy stocks underperform as oil prices fall sharply.

After notching a new all-time high on Wednesday, the S&P 500 Index (SPX) opened in the negative territory on Thursday and failed to stage a recovery. As of writing, the PPX was down 0.52% on the day at 3,953.

S&P 500 top movers

The impressive upsurge witnessed in the US Treasury bond yields provides a boost to rate-sensitive financial stocks. Hartford Financial Services Group Inc (HIG: NYSE), Lincoln National Corp (LNC: NYSE), Citizens Financial Group Inc (CFG: NYSE), Bank of America Corp (BAC: NYSE) and Wells Fargo & Co (WFC: NYSE) stocks are among the top performers, rising between 11% and 4%.

On the other hand, energy stocks are suffering heavy losses amid a sharp decline in crude oil prices. At the moment, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is trading at its lowest level in two weeks at $59.85, losing 7.02% on the day.

Enphase Energy Inc (ENPH: NASDAQ), Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY: NYSE) and Marathon Oil Corp (MRO: NYSE) shares were last seen falling between 7% and 5.5%.