It was a shaky, wild day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this Tuesday.
Fresh from yesterday's loss, the ASX 200 spent much of the day in green territory but took a cold bath in the afternoon. By the time the closing bell rang, the index had recorded a rise of just 0.014%, leaving it at a flat 8,484 points.
This indecisive session for the local markets follows a more upbeat morning of trade up on Wall Street to kick off the American trading week.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) had a bouncy day, but finished 0.38% higher.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was far more confident though, shooting up a healthy 0.98%.
Time now to get back to ASX shares and take stock of what the different ASX sectors were doing today.
Winners and losers
Despite today's slight market rise, we still had a few sectors that went backwards.
Leading those losers were healthcare stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) had a shocker today, plunging 2.94%.
Energy shares were also shunned, but the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) got off relatively lightly with a fall of 0.3%.
We could say the same for consumer staples stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) ended up slipping 0.08% lower.
But that's it for the red sectors. Turning to the green ones now, gold shares were the place to be today, illustrated by the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD)'s 2.73% rocket higher.
Industrial stocks cleaned up too. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) managed to soar 0.98% this session.
Tech shares had a blowout day too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) galloping 0.89% higher.
Communications stocks were also running hot. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) vaulted up 0.75% this Tuesday.
Utility shares weren't quite as in demand though, as you'll see from the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)'s 0.57% uptick.
Consumer discretionary stocks were in a similar ballpark. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) rose by a confident 0.55%.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) fared relatively well too, with the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) lifting 0.4%.
Financial shares did about half as well as that. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) gained 0.21% this session.
Finally, mining stocks made the winners cut, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ)'s 0.17% bump.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Today's best index stock came in as media group Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC). Nine shares had a great day, shooting up 14.02% to finish at $1.47 each.
As we covered today, this jump may have been prompted by the impressive results of its rival, Seven West Media Ltd (ASX: SWM).
Here's a look at the rest of today's best:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC) | $1.47 | 14.01% |
| Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE) | $2.80 | 8.53% |
| SGH Ltd (ASX: SGH) | $51.65 | 6.14% |
| Evolution Mining Ltd (ASX: EVN) | $6.22 | 4.89% |
| Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) | $18.54 | 4.04% |
| De Grey Mining Ltd (ASX: DEG) | $2.14 | 3.88% |
| Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) | $73.99 | 3.17% |
| Johns Lyng Group Ltd (ASX: JLG) | $3.65 | 3.11% |
| Alcoa Corporation (ASX: AAI) | $58.74 | 3.05% |
| Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) | $2.51 | 2.87% |
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.
