It was a mildly negative end to the trading week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and many ASX shares this Friday. After spending most of the day in red territory, the ASX 200 did rally this afternoon, but couldn't quite stick the landing.
The index ended up recording a 0.077% fall, leaving it at 8,973.1 points as we head into the weekend.
This miserly end to the Australian trading week comes after a more positive night on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) overcame an early drop to record a 0.16% rise.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) fared even better, jumping 0.53%.
But let's get back to ASX shares and take a deeper look at how the various ASX sectors ended their trading weeks.
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Winners and losers
There were plenty of both losers and winners this Friday.
Leading the former were real estate investment trusts (REITs). The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) had a relatively rough day, diving 0.78%.
Financial stocks were also out of favour, with the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) tanking 0.57%.
Healthcare shares were also looked over by investors. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) suffered a 0.47% swing against it this session.
Industrial stocks couldn't quite stick the landing either, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)'s 0.12% dip.
Our final losers were communications shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) slipped 0.07% lower by the closing bell.
Turning to the green sectors now, it was tech stocks that saw the highest demand today, with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) rocketing 3.07%.
Energy shares ran hot as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) ended up shooting 0.99% higher.
Consumer staples shares saw decent demand too, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ)'s 0.42% bump.
Gold stocks didn't miss out. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) saw its value lift 0.38% this Friday.
Consumer discretionary shares ran fairly hot too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) bouncing 0.35% higher.
Mining stocks came next. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) ended up adding 0.24% to its total this session.
Finally, utilities shares rose, although the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) managed a gain of less than 0.01%.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Our final index winner for the week was data infrastructure company NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT). NextDC shares exploded 17.44% higher this Friday to close the week at $16.50 each.
This dramatic gain came after the company reported its latest earnings today, which clearly delighted investors.
Here's how the other top stocks pulled in:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) | $16.50 | 17.44% |
| Austal Ltd (ASX: ASB) | $7.77 | 15.11% |
| Smartgroup Corporation Ltd (ASX: SIQ) | $9.05 | 12.00% |
| Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX: HVN) | $6.89 | 11.49% |
| Eagers Automotive Ltd (ASX: APE) | $27.65 | 9.46% |
| Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) | $7.85 | 7.83% |
| Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) | $1.96 | 7.71% |
| Pilbara Minerals Ltd (ASX: PLS) | $2.45 | 6.52% |
| Liontown Resources Ltd (ASX: LTR) | $0.94 | 6.21% |
| Deep Yellow Ltd (ASX: DYL) | $1.82 | 6.14% |
Enjoy the weekend!
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.
