It was a decidedly negative end to the trading week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and most ASX shares this Friday.
After recording backsteps for most of the trading week, the ASX 200 dropped a substantial 1.08% today, leaving the index at 7,727.6 points as we head into the weekend.
This rather sad end to the Australian trading week comes after a dire night up on Wall Street last night (our time).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) had another shocker, dropping by 1.53%
It wasn't quite as nasty for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC), which fell by 0.39%.
But let's return to the ASX now, and grit our teeth for a checkup on what the different ASX sectors were up to today.
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Winners and losers
As one might anticipate, there wasn't one sector that escaped unscathed from today's trading.
The worst place to be though was invested in consumer discretionary shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) had a horrific day, plunging 2.45%.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) were slammed too, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ)'s 1.66% belting.
Consumer staples stocks were at the pity party, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ)'s 1.52% crater.
Tech shares were invited as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) tanked 1.52% as well.
Financial stocks weren't riding to the rescue either, with the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) writing off 1.15%.
Communications shares did a little better though, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ)'s loss of 0.8%.
Healthcare stocks were just ahead of that, with the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) shedding 0.79%.
Miners were right on the tail too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) losing 0.78%.
Industrial shares came next. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) got 0.74% cut from its value by the closing bell.
Gold stocks were no safe haven today, evidenced by the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD)'s 0.49% downgrade.
Utilities shares were amongst the better performers, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) sliding 0.3% lower.
Finally, energy stocks were our winners of the day, although the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) still slipped 0.05% lower.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Leading the index winners this Friday was contracting company NRW Holdings Ltd (ASX: NWH). NRW shares rose a healthy 2.83% this session up to $2.91 each.
That was despite a complete lack of news or announcements out of the company today.
Here's how the rest of today's best shares stood at market close:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| NRW Holdings Ltd (ASX: NWH) | $2.91 | 2.83% |
| Challenger Ltd (ASX: CGF) | $6.62 | 2.80% |
| Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) | $2.08 | 2.46% |
| Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) | $9.37 | 2.18% |
| Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8) | $17.08 | 1.97% |
| Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) | $10.61 | 1.63% |
| A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) | $7.12 | 1.28% |
| Super Retail Group Ltd (ASX: SUL) | $12.74 | 1.27% |
| Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) | $27.93 | 0.65% |
| ALS Ltd (ASX: ALQ) | $14.02 | 0.57% |
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.
