It was a rather wild, but still overall positive, day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this Thursday.
After stints in both red and green territory this session, the ASX 200 ended up closing slightly ahead, recording a 0.085% rise up to 8,205.2 points.
This tentatively bullish day for the ASX comes after a similarly nervous night over on the American markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) pulled off a win, but only just, rising by 0.094%.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) fared similarly, gaining 0.082%.
But let's return to the ASX now and check out what was going on amongst the different ASX sectors this Thursday.
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Winners and losers
Despite today's market rise, we had plenty of losers.
Chief amongst those were gold shares. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) had a terrible time today, tanking 0.99%.
Utilities stocks were also shunned, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) plunging 0.41%.
Consumer discretionary shares had a day to forget, too. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) slumped 0.35%.
Its consumer staples stocks counterpart fared better, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ)'s 0.13% loss.
ASX financial shares found themselves on the wrong side of the ledger as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) suffered a 0.1% writedown.
Mining stocks were left out by investors, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) sliding down 0.08% today.
Energy shares were the last losers. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) slipped 0.07% lower.
Turning to the winners now, real estate investment trusts (REITs) took charge. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) rocketed up a happy 1.67% this session.
Communications stocks were a lot less enthusiastic, but the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) still managed a 0.35% improvement.
Industrial shares were in the same ballpark. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) put on 0.3%.
Healthcare stocks returned to a healthy state as well, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.21% rise.
Finally, tech shares eked out a gain. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) lifted 0.15%.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Healthcare stock Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) took out the top spot for the third day in a row this week.
Sigma shares added another rosy 8.14% to finish at $2.06 each. Once again, it appears that the potential merger with Chemist Warehouse is to thank here.
Here's a look at the rest of today's best shares:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) | $2.06 | 8.14% |
| Deep Yellow Ltd (ASX: DYL) | $1.54 | 3.37% |
| Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE) | $2.89 | 3.21% |
| Dexus (ASX: DXS) | $7.81 | 3.03% |
| Light & Wonder Inc (ASX: LNW) | $130.53 | 2.93% |
| Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR) | $2.21 | 2.79% |
| Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW) | $4.06 | 2.78% |
| Monadelphous Group Ltd (ASX: MND) | $13.13 | 2.66% |
| Lifestyle Communities Ltd (ASX: LIC) | $8.93 | 2.53% |
| HMC Capital Ltd (ASX: HMC) | $8.36 | 2.45% |
Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary that shows which companies made big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.
