It was another negative session for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and most ASX shares this Wednesday.
After recovering a little from Monday's sell-off, the bears were back at it again today, seeing the ASX 200 down 0.093% by the time the markets closed. That leaves the index at 7,963.7 points.
This not-so-happy hump day for the ASX comes after a rough night on Wall Street overnight as well.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: DJI) had a bouncy but negative day, slipping by 0.14%.
Things were a little brighter on the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC), which still lost 0.057%.
Let's return to the local markets with a checkup of the different ASX sectors and how they performed this Wednesday.
Winners and losers
Despite the losses of the overall market, we still saw quite a few sectors record a rise.
But let's go over the losers first.
The worst-performing corner of the markets today was real estate investment trusts (REITs). The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) had an awful time, crashing 1.58%.
It wasn't much better for energy stocks, with the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) cratering by 1.09%
Consumer staples shares also had a tough day. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) tanked 0.52%.
Then we had utilities stocks, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) going backwards by 0.42%.
Healthcare shares slightly improved on that. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) ended up losing 0.29% of its value.
Tech stocks, meanwhile, barely fell, with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) ticking down 0.05%.
Industrial shares were in the same ballpark. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) slid down 0.02%.
Our final losers were consumer discretionary stocks, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) also slipping by 0.02%.
Turning now to the winners, it was ASX gold shares that shone the brightest today. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) rocketed a happy 2.88% higher by the closing bell.
Broader mining stocks were also in demand, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) rising 0.4%.
Financial shares enjoyed a lift as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) ended up gaining 0.15%.
Finally, communications stocks counted themselves lucky, with the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) escaping with a 0.1% improvement.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Most ASX gold stocks rose in value today, but none more than Red 5 Ltd (ASX: RED), which also topped the index.
Red 5 shares shot up 6.41% to 41.5 cents per share, despite no additional news from the company today.
Here's how the rest of today's top performers brought it home:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Red 5 Ltd (ASX: RED) | $0.415 | 6.41% |
| Emerald Resources N.L. (ASX: EMR) | $4.02 | 6.02% |
| West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF) | $1.49 | 4.56% |
| Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) | $1.995 | 4.18% |
| Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) | $4.10 | 4.06% |
| Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8) | $15.83 | 3.40% |
| Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) | $1.83 | 3.10% |
| Capricorn Metals Ltd (ASX: CMM) | $5.46 | 3.02% |
| Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) | $1.81 | 2.84% |
| HUB24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) | $48.41 | 2.78% |
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.
