It ended up being another volatile day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this Wednesday. But, unlike yesterday, ASX shares failed to snatch a last-minute win.
After a day spent exploring both red and green territory, the ASX 200 ended up closing 0.034% lower, leaving the index at 7,660.4 points.
This lacklustre day on the Australian share market comes after a bit of a mixed night up on the US markets overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) had a depressing Tuesday, sinking by 0.25%.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC), however, went the other way, banking a rise of 0.37%.
But let's get back to ASX shares, with a look at what the different ASX sectors were up to today.
Winners and losers
Despite the bad mood of the broader market, we had a fairly even split between up and down sectors this Wednesday.
Starting with the downers, no sector was more depressed than consumer staples shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) finished the day nursing a loss of 0.81%.
Next up were ASX communications stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) was also on the nose, retreating by 0.55%.
Then we had financial shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) had a rough day as well, losing 0.55%.
Consumer discretionary stocks were another losing sector, but the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) fared better than its staples counterpart and slid by 0.26%.
Gold shares were another sector that investors didn't want a bar of. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) slipped by 0.14%.
Miners were technically our final red sector, but the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) was essentially flat, losing less than 0.01%.
Turning now to the winners, and the best safe haven this Wednesday was in tech socks. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) had a corker, shooting up by 2.88%.
Energy shares were also in demand, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ)'s rise of 0.84%.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) had a great day as well, with the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) bouncing 0.52% higher.
Utilities stocks were right behind that, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)'s lift of 0.28%.
Healthcare shares recovered a little from yesterday's sell-off. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) saw its value rise by 0.12%.
Our final winner was the industrial sector. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) inched 0.1% higher by the closing bell.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Today's best stock on the index was miner Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN).
Chalice shares had a massive day, surging 24.75% all the way up to $1.26 a share. This comes despite no obvious catalyst or news out of the company.
However, my Fool colleague James dove into some possible reasons why we saw such a stunning move with Chalice shares earlier today.
Here's a look at how the rest of today's top shares landed the plane:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Chalice Mining Ltd (ASX: CHN) | $1.26 | 24.75% |
| NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) | $17.15 | 13.13% |
| Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) | $1.27 | 9.96% |
| Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) | $4.17 | 7.47% |
| Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) | $2.13 | 7.30% |
| IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) | $8.14 | 7.11% |
| Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) | $1.255 | 6.36% |
| Light & Wonder Inc (ASX: LNW) | $154.94 | 5.92% |
| Block Inc (ASX: SQ2) | $120.22 | 5.60% |
| Arcadium Lithium plc (ASX: LTM) | $7.61 | 5.40% |
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.
