The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) endured yet another rough trading session this Friday, ending what has been a rather negative trading week on a low.
The ASX 200 spent all day deep in red territory this session, and closed 0.41% lower, leaving the index at a flat 8,296 points as we head into the weekend.
Today's miserly finish to the Australian trading week comes after a decidedly negative Thursday session up on Wall Street this morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was in a foul mood, dropping 0.53%.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) did even worse though, losing 0.66% of its value.
But let's get back to ASX shares now and check out how the various ASX sectors navigated today's tough trading conditions.
Winners and losers
As one might expect, we only had a couple of sectors that eked out a rise in today's market.
But more on those in a moment.
The worst place to have had money invested in this Friday was in gold shares. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) was punished today, and was smashed down 2.23%.
Broader mining stocks were hit hard as well, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) crashing 1.84% lower.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) were also amongst the worst losers. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) tanked by 0.77% today.
Utilities shares came next, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)'s 0.46% dive.
ASX tech stocks were swept up in the negativity as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) fell by 0.44%.
Communications shares fared a little better, but the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) was still walked back by 0.32%.
Consumer staples stocks were no safe haven either. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) ended up taking a 0.2% bath today.
Healthcare shares marginally improved on that, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.19% dip.
Consumer discretionary stocks had an anaemic day. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) recorded a 0.09% decline.
Our final losers were industrial shares, with the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) inching 0.02% lower.
Turning to the winners now, it was energy stocks that were the best place to be today. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) bucked the market to charge 0.44% higher.
The other sector that escaped a loss was financial shares, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ)'s 0.16% lift.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Topping out the index this Friday was infrastructure company Ventia Services Group Ltd (ASX: VNT). Ventia shares had a great session today, vaulting 10.82% higher to finish at $3.69 a share.
This may have been a bounceback after yesterday's 22.56% drop after allegations emerged that Ventia had engaged in anti-competitive behaviour.
Here's a look at the rest of today's best:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Ventia Services Group Ltd (ASX: VNT) | $3.69 | 10.81% |
| IRESS Ltd (ASX: IRE) | $9.38 | 8.19% |
| Insignia Financial Ltd (ASX: IFL) | $3.61 | 6.18% |
| Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) | $7.95 | 4.74% |
| Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX: TAH) | $0.595 | 4.39% |
| Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) | $2.61 | 3.98% |
| Deep Yellow Ltd (ASX: DYL) | $1.28 | 2.81% |
| Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) | $0.195 | 2.63% |
| IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) | $12.24 | 2.60% |
| Web Travel Group Ltd (ASX: WEB) | $4.69 | 2.18% |
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.
