It was a middling start to the week's trading for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and most ASX shares this Monday. After ending last week on a bit of a sour note, the bears were back at it today.
By the time trading wrapped by, the ASX 200 had declined by a painful 0.76%, leaving the index at 7,763.2 points.
This Garfield-esque start to the ASX's week comes after a much more upbeat conclusion to the American trading week in the early hours of Saturday morning (our time).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: DJI) had a decent showing, rising by 0.17%
But it was the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) that was really on fire, shooting up 0.9%.
Let's get back to ASX shares and this week now, examining what the various ASX sectors were doing today.
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Winners and losers
It was almost all frowns on the Australian stock market this Monday, with only a handful of sectors coming out with a win.
But first, the losers. The worst place to be today was in mining shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) had a shocker today, cratering by a nasty 1.8%.
Energy stocks weren't too far in front of that, with the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) plunging 1.45%.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) also had a horrid day. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) tanked 1.06%.
It was a rough session for ASX healthcare shares too. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) was slapped down 1.04%.
Communications stocks were another sore point, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ)'s 0.86% loss.
Utilities shares came next. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) was on the receiving end of a 0.86% shellacking this session.
Industrial stocks weren't riding to the rescue, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)'s 0.38% hit.
Financial shares were also getting sold off. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) backtracked 0.29%.
Our final losers were consumer staples stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) had 0.14% wiped from its score today.
Turning now to the far less numerous winners, gold shares took out today's crown as the place to be. This session, the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) enjoyed a 0.96% boom.
Consumer discretionary shares were saving investors' bacon too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) rising 0.33%.
Tech stocks were also defying the odds. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) managed to grow 0.29% this Monday.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
The best stock on the index today was gold miner Red 5 Ltd (ASX: RED). Red 5 shares rocketed a compelling 5.33% this session up to 39.5 cents each.
This move higher comes after the company made an evidently well-received announcement this morning regarding its sales and finances.
Here's a look at the rest of today's highest flyers:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Red 5 Ltd (ASX: RED) | $0.395 | 5.33% |
| Emerald Resources N.L. (ASX: EMR) | $3.82 | 4.09% |
| Coronado Global Resources Inc (ASX: CRN) | $1.405 | 4.07% |
| Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) | $134.27 | 2.59% |
| Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) | $3.73 | 2.47% |
| Lovisa Holdings Ltd (ASX: LOV) | $32.00 | 2.30% |
| Johns Lyng Group Ltd (ASX: JLG) | $5.84 | 2.10% |
| Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8) | $15.99 | 1.98% |
| NEXTDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) | $18.14 | 1.97% |
| Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) | $1.945 | 1.83% |
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.
