The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was off to the races today, recording an exceptionally positive gain following the Australian economy's latest inflation data. The ASX 200 built on yesterday's gains with a strong 0.85% rise this Wednesday, lifting the index to 7,402 points.
This robust performance comes after a comparatively weak session over on Wall Street last night.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) rose by a paltry 0.076%. The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) fared far better, recording a rise of 0.61%.
But let's get back to the local share market now with a checkup of how the different ASX sectors went during today's trading.
Winners and losers
Given the size of today's gains, it will come as no surprise to see that most ASX sectors did rather well this Wednesday.
But we still did have some losers, so let's check them out.
The worst place to be today was unequivocally real estate investment trusts (REITs). The S&P/SX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) was a major drag on the markets this session with its 0.52% loss.
ASX healthcare shares were also a sore point, illustrated by a 0.49% slip in the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ).
Utilities shares were our other sad sector today. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) went backwards by 0.34%.
But that's it for the losers.
The best place to have your money today was ASX mining shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) rocketed a happy 1.83%, which has major flow-on effects for the entire market.
Not far behind were consumer discretionary shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) was another crowd-pleaser with its rise of 1.08%.
As were ASX tech shares and financial shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) recorded a 1.15% lift, closely followed by the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ)'s hefty 1.08% increase.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Our top-performing ASX 200 share this Tuesday was energy stock Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT). Beach shares had a stellar day, surging by 6.89% up to $1.63 each.
This was probably a consequence of the company's latest quarterly update, which showed a significant increase in oil production.
Here are the other winning shares from today's session:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) | $1.63 | 6.89% |
| Champion Iron Ltd (ASX: CIA) | $6.25 | 5.4% |
| Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) | $5.05 | 4.55% |
| Mineral Resources Limited (ASX: MIN) | $73.82 | 4.05% |
| Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG) | $4.07 | 3.83% |
| Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV) |
$21.19 | 3.62% |
| IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) | $23.91 | 3.24% |
| GUD Holdings Limited (ASX: GUD) | $9.80 | 3.05% |
| Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC) | $1.405 | 2.93% |
| Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) | $21.14 | 2.77% |
Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to let you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.
