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.
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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.
