The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) endured a fairly miserable end to the trading week this Friday, with investors pulling back from the new record highs we saw yesterday.
By the time trading wrapped up this afternoon, the ASX 200 had dropped a hefty 0.87%. That leaves the index at 8,283.2 points as we head into the weekend. At least that's still not too far from yesterday's new 8,384.5-point all-time high.
This sobering end to the Australian trading week comes after a more upbeat night up on the American markets overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) put in a solid performance, rising 0.37% to a new record high of its own.
It wasn't quite as rosy for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC), which managed a 0.036% uptick.
But let's get back to the local markets now and check out how the various ASX sectors dealt with today's miserly market.
Winners and losers
We only had one sector that managed to pull off a rise today. But more on that later.
Leading the losers today were utilities shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) had a shocker, plunging an awful 3.48% this Friday.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) also had a terrible time, with the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) cratering 1.97%.
Consumer discretionary stocks weren't much better. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) tanked 1.89%.
Mining shares were on the nose too, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ)'s 1.63% crash.
Tech stocks were just behind that. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) slumped 1.61%.
Energy shares were sold off as well, with the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) plunging 1.24%.
As were industrial stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) was sent home 1.23% lower.
ASX consumer staples shares fared much better though, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ)'s 0.34% fall.
Communications stocks were in the same ballpark. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) sank 0.23% lower.
Healthcare shares were a little unlucky, with the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) sliding 0.06% lower.
Our final losers were financial stocks, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ)'s 0.01% slip.
The only winners today were gold shares. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) proved to be a safe haven, rising 0.3% this Friday.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Amid today's rather muted gains, fund manager Perpetual Ltd (ASX: PPT) came out on top. The perpetual sahe rice ticked up 4.63% today to $20.56 a share.
As my Fool colleague James noted this afternoon, this could have been the result of a new broker note out over the company.
Here's how the rest of today's winners pulled up at the dock:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Perpetual Ltd (ASX: PPT) | $20.56 | 4.63% |
| Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX) | $21.96 | 4.57% |
| Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) | $3.11 | 4.36% |
| Yancoal Australia Ltd (ASX: YAL) | $6.24 | 3.65% |
| Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) | $1.25 | 2.46% |
| IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) | $13.76 | 2.15% |
| De Grey Mining Ltd (ASX: DEG) | $1.39 | 1.46% |
| Ansell Ltd (ASX: ANN) | $31.46 | 1.29% |
| Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) | $2.58 | 1.18% |
| Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) | $192.81 | 1.05% |
Enjoy the weekend!
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.
