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.
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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.
