It was a bumpy but overall positive end to the trading week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and ASX shares this Friday. Today's modest gain means that the share market has notched three green days in a row.
The ASX 200 managed to pull off a modest rise for today's session, gaining 0.073% to finish the week at 7,644.8 points.
This happy wrap-up for ASX shares comes after another strong night up on the US markets overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was a little wobbly but finished its trading with a 0.13% rise.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) did a little better again, rising by 0.24%.
But back to the ASX now, let's check out how the various ASX sectors finished up this Friday.
Winners and losers
Despite the market's positive finish, there were still quite a few sectors that went backwards today.
Chief amongst those was energy stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) had a shocker today, cratering by another 1.32%.
Utilities shares were another notable loser, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) shedding 0.85%.
Gold stocks weren't having fun today, either. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) suffered a 0.67% sell-off.
Broader mining shares had a similar experience. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) ended up retreating by 0.28%.
Consumer staples stocks were also on the nose, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ)'s drop of 0.05%.
Our final loser was the industrials space. But the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) barely moved, inching down by just 0.01%.
Turning now to the winners, and tech stocks were the best place to be today. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) had a cracker, surging by 1.13%.
Healthcare shares were also on fire, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) gain of 1% on the dot.
Communications stocks had a top time today too. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) shot up 0.8% by the end of trading.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) continued to swell as well, with the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) shooting up 0.38%.
ASX consumer discretionary shares were also in demand, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ)'s 0.27% bump.
Financial shares were our final winner. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) banked a lift of 0.09% this Friday.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Today's index gold medallist was lithium stock Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR). Liontown shares bounced by a healthy 10.4% up to $1.115 each by the end of trading. This healthy spike came despite no obvious catalyst, news or announcements from the company.
Here's how the rest of today's best-performing stocks stand:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) | $1.115 | 10.40% |
| Boral Limited (ASX: BLD) | $5.86 | 8.32% |
| REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA) | $186.88 | 5.92% |
| Cochlear Limited (ASX: COH) | $322.73 | 5.90% |
| Arcadium Lithium plc (ASX: LTM) | $7.07 | 3.97% |
| Seven Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: SVW) | 37.08 | 3.84% |
| Light & Wonder Inc (ASX: LNW) | $134.37 | 3.20% |
| Insignia Financial Ltd (ASX: IFL) | $2.30 | 3.14% |
| Credit Corp Group Ltd (ASX: CCP) | $18.30 | 2.81% |
| CSR Ltd (ASX: CSR) | $6.76 | 2.74% |
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.
