It was an unhappy hump day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and many ASX shares this Wednesday, as investors doubled down on the selling that we saw yesterday. Despite opening in the green this morning, investors quickly sent the market into negative territory, where it stayed for the rest of the day. By the time the markets closed, the ASX 200 had lost 0.64%, leaving the index at 8,722.9 points.
This rather woeful Wednesday session for ASX investors came after a much more optimistic session over on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) continued to push higher, rising 0.26%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was even more enthusiastic, gaining 1.52%.
But let's get back to the local markets now for a closer look at what the various ASX sectors were doing this Wednesday.
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Winners and losers
There were far more red sectors than green ones today.
At the front of those red sectors, we had consumer staples shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) copped it this session, crashing 2.14% lower.
Financial stocks were punished too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) tanking 1.67%.
Gold shares were no safe haven either. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) plunged 1.28% this hump day.
Tech stocks shared a similar fate, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ)'s 1.02% dive.
Communications shares were also out of favour. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) cratered by 0.86% today.
Consumer discretionary stocks didn't exactly have a nice time either, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) sinking 0.69%.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) shared a similar fate. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) drifted 0.5% lower this session.
Industrial shares weren't spared, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)'s 0.23% dip.
That's it for the red sectors, though, so let's turn to the happier corners of the market.
At the front of those sectors were healthcare stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) ended up soaring 0.77% this Wednesday.
Utilities shares saw decent demand too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) advancing 0.53%.
Energy stocks got a reprieve as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) lifted 0.36%.
Finally, mining shares got over the line, evident by the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ)'s 0.35% jump.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Despite being in a trading halt for some of the day, today's winner was fund manager Perpetual Ltd (ASX: PPT). Perpetual shares shot up 16.77% today, finishing at $18.10 each.
As we went through earlier today, this seemed to be a reaction to rumours of a potential transaction.
Here's how the other top shares landed their planes:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Perpetual Ltd (ASX: PPT) | $18.10 | 16.77% |
| Magellan Financial Group Ltd (ASX: MFG) | $10.85 | 11.97% |
| South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) | $4.28 | 9.74% |
| Silex Systems Ltd (ASX: SLX) | $5.71 | 7.74% |
| Netwealth Group Ltd (ASX: NWL) | $22.15 | 7.73% |
| Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) | $9.93 | 6.77% |
| IperionX Ltd (ASX: IPX) | $4.32 | 5.88% |
| Hub24 Ltd (ASX: HUB) | $76.64 | 5.39% |
| Elders Ltd (ASX: ELD) | $5.40 | 5.06% |
| Austal Ltd (ASX: ASB) | $4.24 | 4.69% |
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.
