The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) snatched defeat from the jaws of victory today, letting an early surge slip away to finish slightly lower.
Despite rising as much as 0.8% this morning, the ASX 200 ended up closing at a flat 8,374 points this afternoon, cementing a disappointing 0.064% loss for the day.
This letdown of a session for Australian investors comes after another red day up on the American stock markets this morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) pared back some early losses, but still finished 0.28% lower.
It was worse for the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC), which tanked by a hefty 1.2%
But let's return to the local markets now and take stock of what the various ASX sectors were doing this Tuesday.
Winners and losers
There were plenty of both winners and losers amongst the ASX sectors this session.
Leading the latter were real estate investment trusts (REITs). The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) had a shocker today, tanking 1.11%.
Consumer discretionary shares came next, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) plunging 0.76%.
Energy stocks were in just behind that. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) was sent home 0.73% lower today.
Industrial shares had another difficult day, illustrated by the 0.64% downgrade of the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ).
Consumer staples stocks were in a similar ballpark. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) got a 0.59% 'correction' from investors.
Next up were utility shares, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) losing 0.5% of its value.
Financial stocks made a big improvement on that though. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) slid 0.15% lower this session.
Finally for the losers, we had communications shares, with the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) slipping 0.07% lower.
Turning to the winners now, it was gold stocks that led the charge higher. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) soared up 1.59% today.
Tech shares were on fire too, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ)'s 1.52% surge.
Mining stocks weren't left out of the party. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) banked a 0.93% gain this Tuesday.
Finally, healthcare shares eked out a small rise, as you'll see from the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.01% lift.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Today's hottest stock on the index was gold miner Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU). Vault shares galloped up a healthy 5.19% today to 40.5 cents a share.
There wasn't any major news out of the company today, but the gold price has continued to surge higher.
Here are the rest of today's best:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) | $0.405 | 5.19% |
| Pro Medicus Limited (ASX: PME) | $283.92 | 5.18% |
| Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA) | $2.30 | 4.07% |
| Megaport Ltd (ASX: MP1) | $8.68 | 3.95% |
| Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) | $0.665 | 3.91% |
| WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC) | $124.50 | 3.60% |
| SiteMinder Ltd (ASX: SDR) | $6.08 | 3.58% |
| Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) | $2.34 | 3.54% |
| Nufarm Ltd (ASX: NUF) | $3.68 | 3.37% |
| Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX) | $29.58 | 3.14% |
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.
