The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has made it four for four wins this week so far (if barely) with another day in the green. The ASX 200 rose by a tentative 0.037%, leaving the index at 7,091 points. Let's hope investors make it a flush tomorrow.
This Thursday's happy gains come after a shaky yet still positive night up on the US markets overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) alternated between positive and negative territory for the North American Wednesday trading but ended up closing 0.19% higher. The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) more than tripled that gain, though, shooting up 0.71%.
But time to return to the ASX now, so let's see how the various ASX sectors fared in this Thursday's session.
Winners and losers
Today definitely had more winners than losers, but we still have some notable moves to discuss.
Leading with the losers, and we had a clear stinker today in ASX healthcare shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) had a clanger, dropping by a horrid 4.52%. We can mostly blame the woes of CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) for that.
Energy was another sore spot for ASX investors, with the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) falling 0.55%
Consumer staples stocks weren't quite as hard hit, but the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) still slipped by 0.24%.
And industrials shares were also on the nose. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) ended up sliding 0.08% lower.
But that's it for the losers.
Turning to the winning sectors today, it was gold shares that came out on top. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) shone with a rise of 1.23%.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) were another bright spot, demonstrated by the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) gain of 0.89%.
Next up, we have financials shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) boomed by a pleasing 0.86%.
Miners weren't left out either, as shown by the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ)'s lift of 0.68%.
Tech stocks also had a strong day. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) closed 0.58% higher.
There was a strong showing from the communications sector too. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) ended up banking a rise of 0.32%.
Finally, consumer discretionary shares were one of the weaker winners today. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) still managed a gain but rose by just 0.03%.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Leading the pack for today's session was lithium stock Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO). Core Lithium shares had an incredible day, soaring 8.11% to 40 cents a share.
There was no news out of the company during today's trading, but this move higher may have been sparked by some good news from an ASX broker.
Here's the rest of today's winning shares:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Core Lithium Ltd (ASX: CXO) | $0.40 | 8.11% |
| Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) | $3.22 | 5.57% |
| Nickel Industries Ltd (ASX: NIC) | $0.80 | 5.26% |
| Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) | $0.645 | 4.88% |
| Sayona Mining Ltd (ASX: SYA) | $0.096 | 4.35% |
| Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) | $55.20 | 4.29% |
| Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) | $4.21 | 4.21% |
| Bank of Queensland Ltd (ASX: BOQ) | $5.56 | 3.93% |
| Breville Group Ltd (ASX: BRG) | $22.98 | 3.37% |
| Seek Ltd (ASX: SEK) | $23.47 | 3.21% |
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.
