S&P 500 top movers: APA leads gainers despite poor performance of energy shares

• S&P 500 rebounds modestly after opening deep in the negative territory.
• Energy shares suffer heavy losses amid slumping crude oil prices.
• Apache Corp (APA) shares soar after company reports smaller-than-expected Q2 loss.

The S&P 500 Index (SPX) opened the day more than 1% lower after the US GDP data, which showed a contraction of 32.9% in the second quarter, weighed on market mood. However, the SPX erased a large portion of its daily losses and was last seen losing 0.5% on the day at 3,241.

Among the 11 major S&P 500 sectors, the Consumer Discretionary Index is up 0.42% as the top performer. On the other hand, the Energy Index is down more than 4% pressured by slumping crude oil prices. At the moment, the barrel of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is trading at $39.90, losing 3.4% on a daily basis.

S&P 500 top movers

Earlier in the day, oil and gas producers Apache Corp (APA) reported a second-quarter loss of $0.74 as it cut expenses by more than 40%. This figures came in better than analysts’ estimate for an EPS of $-1.01. Additionally, the company announced that it made its third oil discover in offshore Suriname. Boosted by these developments, APA rose to its highest level since early June and was last up 16.15% on the day at $15.85.

On the other hand, several other energy shares are suffering heavy losses on Thursday. As of writing, Valero Energy Corp (VLO), Occidental Petroleum Corp (OXY) and ConocoPhillips (COP) shares were down between 6.2% and 7%.

Meanwhile, A. O. Smith Corp (AOS) shares are down 7.6% on the day at $49.04 after the water technology company reported a 13% decline in second-quarter sales.