The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) continued its recent slump this Thursday, building on the losses we've seen over most of this week thus far.
By the end of trading today, the ASX 200 recorded a loss of 0.68%, finishing up at just 7,146 points. Ouch. Since last Thursday, the ASX 200 has now retreated by a hefty 2.9%.
Today's negativity on the Australian share market comes after a poor showing from US stocks overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) initially rose, but ended up succumbing to negativity, recording a drop of 0.52% by market close. The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) really tanked though, giving investors a nasty 1.15% haircut.
But back to the ASX now. Let's see where investors were pulling their money out from today with a look at the performances of the different ASX sectors.
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Winners and losers
Although there were a couple of bright spots, it was mostly a sea of red ink on the ASX stock market this session.
The worst place to be this Thursday was unequivocally in ASX gold stocks. Investors were positively fleeing the gold sector, with the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) recording a horrid fall of 2.38%.
Industrials shares weren't too far behind, with the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) tanking 1.3% this Thursday.
Healthcare shares fared a little better, but the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) still notched up a nasty loss of 1.21%
Then we had consumer staples adding to the dumpster fire. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) ended up backtracking 1.10%.
Financials weren't faring much better. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) ended up closing 0.99% lower today.
Consumer discretionary stocks and the tech space were in on the pity party as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) went backwards by 0.67%, while the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) slipped by 0.78%.
Mining shares couldn't escape the fear either, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) falling 0.52%.
In fact, there were only three primary sectors that got out of today's session with a rise.
First among those were real estate investment trusts (REITs). The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) gave investors a pleasing rise of 1.15% this session.
Energy stocks were also a safe haven. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) was in the green, gaining 0.39%.
Finally, utilities shares were another bright spot. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) banked a tentative 0.03% increase.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Despite the losses on the broader markets this Thursday, we still had a good showing with our top performers, with eight out of ten recording a gain of more than 4%.
Our best stock did far better than that, though. Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING) shares rocketed a whopping 14.75% to $3.19 by market close. That came after a pleasing earnings report from the company this morning.
Here are the other best-performing ASX shares from today's session:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Inghams Group Ltd (ASX: ING) | $3.19 | 14.75% |
| IPH Ltd (ASX: IPH) | $8.11 | 10.79% |
| Goodman Group (ASX: GMG) | $20.88 | 5.72% |
| HomeCo Daily Needs REIT (ASX: HDN) | $1.165 | 5.43% |
| Abacus Storage King (ASX: ASK) | $1.225 | 4.7% |
| Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) | $10.85 | 4.53% |
| Carsales.com Ltd (ASX: CAR) | $27.85 | 4.15% |
| Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) | $3.69 | 3.36% |
| ARB Corporation Ltd (ASX: ARB) | $33.49 | 2.89% |
| Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) | $13.72 | 2.85% |
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.
