It's been a very lucrative start to the trading week for ASX investors, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) vaulting higher this Monday.
After a rough start to December last week, the ASX 200 shook all that off and banked a healthy gain of 0.73% by the end of trading. That leaves the index at 7,124.7 points.
This happy opening move from the markets follows an equally bullish finish to the American week's trading last Friday night (our time).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) rose by an even more solid 0.82% for last Friday's session.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) wasn't quite as excited, but still managed to pull off a rise of 0.55%.
But returning to the ASX now, let's check out how the various ASX sectors went today.
Winners and losers
It was mostly all smiles on the markets today, with two notable exceptions.
Getting those out of the way, the worst place to have had money in today was in utility shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) had a pretty horrid day, all things considered, dropping by a hefty 2.52%.
It was a similar story with ASX energy stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) also had a clanger, falling by 1.26%.
But that's it for the red sectors.
Leading today's charge higher was the gold space. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) had a phenomenal session, shooting up by 3.24%.
Following gold were tech stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) was another shiner, rocketing 1.9%.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) were next. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) soared as well, putting on 1.6%.
Miners were also in high demand, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ)'s gain of 1.46%.
Then we had consumer discretionary shares and consumer staples stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) added 1.25%, while the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) increased by 0.88%.
Communications stocks were another bright spot. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) swelled by 0.59%.
As was the financials space. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) banked a rise of 0.43%.
Healthcare shares were our final winner, with the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) finishing 0.27% above where it started.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Coming in at pole position this Monday was mining stock Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN). Chalice shares had a corker, rising 11.47% to $1.555 each.
There wasn't any news out of the company today. But this gain may have been the result of some favourable news regarding its Indonesian competition.
Here's how the rest of today's top ten slid home:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) | $1.555 | 11.47% |
| Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) | $0.545 | 6.86% |
| Genesis Minerals Ltd (ASX: GMD) | $1.89 | 6.48% |
| Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BLG) | $1.815 | 5.52% |
| Alumina Limited (ASX: AWC) | $0.745 | 4.93% |
| West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF) | $0.975 | 4.84% |
| IRESS Ltd (ASX: IRE) | $7.71 | 4.76% |
| Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) | $2.03 | 4.64% |
| Premier Investments Limited (ASX: PMV) | $26.20 | 4.34% |
| Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) | $10.00 | 4.28% |
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.
