It was a very pleasant start to the trading week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this Monday.
After a rather horrid week last week, investors seemed to come back from the weekend with a renewed sense of optimism. The ASX 200 ended up gaining a solid 0.9% over today's trading, leaving the index at 8,245.7 points.
This strong start to the week's trading for the local markets comes after a bullish finish to the American trading week on Saturday morning (our time).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was in fine form, shooting 1.39% higher.
It was even better for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC), which galloped up 1.63%.
Time now to dig into the ASX's performance today and check out what the various ASX sectors were up to.
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Winners and losers
There wasn't one sector that missed out on today's market gains.
The worst place to be was in financial stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) was less enthusiastic than others, but still inched 0.16% higher.
Consumer staples shares were also relatively muted, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) getting a 0.32% bump.
Utility stocks came next. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) ended up rising a confident 0.71% today.
Healthcare shares were just ahead of that, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.75% lift.
Industrial stocks did better again. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) saw its value climb 0.93%.
Gold shares didn't miss out either, with the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) banking a 1.21% gain.
Consumer discretionary stocks landed just ahead of that. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) ended up adding 1.25% to its total.
Next up, we had real estate investment trusts (REITs), as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ)'s 1.37% hike.
Communications shares raced ahead. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) swelled by 1.49% today.
Mining stocks had a top day too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) galloping 1.63% higher.
Investors stepped on the gas with tech shares though. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) surged up by 1.78%.
Coming out on top of the index today was energy stocks, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ)'s 2.02% vault higher.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Building services company Johns Lyng Group Ltd (ASX: JLG) took out today's top index spot.
Johns Lyng shares soared 784% higher today to close at $2.75 each.
This move came despite no major news out of the company this Monday.
Here are the other top shares from today's trading:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Johns Lyng Group Ltd (ASX: JLG) | $2.75 | 7.84% |
| Kelsian Group Ltd (ASX: KLS) | $3.33 | 7.42% |
| Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) | $2.64 | 6.45% |
| Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) | $23.93 | 5.37% |
| Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8) | $8.88 | 4.96% |
| Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) | $9.99 | 4.94% |
| Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX: HVN) | $5.44 | 4.21% |
| Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX: ILU) | $4.31 | 3.86% |
| Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) | $1.49 | 3.85% |
| NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) | $8.36 | 3.60% |
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.
