Investors endured another rough day of trading on the ASX boards this Tuesday, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) recording its second fall for the week.
By the time trading wrapped up this session, the ASX 200 had retreated by another 0.3%. That leaves the index at a tentative 8,900.6 points.
This tremulous Tuesday for the Australian markets comes after a pessimistic beginning to the American trading week last night.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was in poor form and slid 0.2% lower.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) did even worse than that, sliding by a substantial 1.15%.
But let's return to the local markets now and examine what happened in the various ASX sectors today.
Winners and losers
The red sectors comprehensively outnumbered the green ones this session.
Leading the former were consumer discretionary shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) had a shocker, cratering by 1.89%.
Consumer staples stocks were in a similar ballpark, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) diving 1.66%.
As were real estate investment trusts (REITs). The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) ended up plunging 1.25%.
Communications shares had a hard time today as well, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ)'s 1.11% shellacking.
Healthcare stocks were in poor form, too. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) was sent home 0.83% lighter this Tuesday.
Utilities shares weren't seeing too much buying either, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) taking a 0.75% bath.
Energy stocks had a day to forget as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) saw its value take a 0.46% hit today.
Our next losers were industrial stocks, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)'s 0.28% slide.
Mining shares round out our losers list today. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) saw a 0.01% slip by the closing bell.
Turning to the green sectors now, the winners were led by financial stocks, with the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) surging up a decent 0.42% today.
Gold shares had another positive day as well. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) enjoyed a 0.36% lift this Tuesday.
Finally, tech stocks made the winners cut, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ)'s 0.35% lift.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
The index topper this Tuesday came down to healthcare stock Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV). Polynovo shares bounced a massive 10.27% higher this session to close at $1.45 each.
This big jump followed some pleasing news out of the United States, which we dove into here.
Here's how the rest of today's winners pulled up at the dock:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) | $1.45 | 10.27% |
| NRW Holdings Ltd (ASX: NWH) | $4.04 | 6.32% |
| Clarity Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: CU6) | $3.09 | 5.10% |
| Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX: TAH) | $1.01 | 4.12% |
| Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX: FBU) | $2.95 | 3.51% |
| Ramelius Resources Ltd (ASX: RMS) | $3.41 | 2.71% |
| Perseus Mining Ltd (ASX: PRU) | $4.11 | 2.24% |
| Infratil Ltd (ASX: IFT) | $10.60 | 2.32% |
| Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU) | $19.61 | 2.19% |
| Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) | $10.35 | 2.17% |
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.
