It was a pleasant hump day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and many ASX shares this Wednesday.
After yesterday's lethargic showing, investors came back to the ASX boards with a little more pep in their steps, sending the ASX 200 0.37% higher. After staying in green territory all day, the index ended up closing at 8,841.1 points.
This confident mid-week session for the Australian markets follows a sunny session on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) had a lukewarm day, rising by just 0.018%.
However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was far more bullish, gaining 0.9%.
Let's get back to the local markets now and dive a little deeper into what the various ASX sectors were up to today.
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Winners and losers
We had more green sectors than red ones this session.
Leading the red sectors were communications shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) was shunned, tumbling 1.2%.
Gold stocks had a similar experience, with the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) diving 0.95%.
Energy shares found themselves on the nose, too. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) retreated 0.57% this hump day.
We could say the same for consumer staples stocks, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) dipping 0.56%.
Healthcare stocks couldn't hold their own either, evident by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.38% slide.
Our last losers were consumer discretionary shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) slipped 0.22% lower by the close of trading.
Let's turn to the winners now. Leading the push higher were mining stocks, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) surging 1.7%.
Utilities shares were far tamer, though. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) lifted 0.17% today.
Financial stocks were also in that ballpark, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ)'s 0.15% advance.
Tech shares followed financials. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) jumped 0.13%.
Then we had real estate investment trusts (REITs), with the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) also bouncing 0.13% higher.
Finally, industrial stocks rounded out the winners this Wednesday, as you can see by the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)'s 0.07% bump.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Our best performer this hump day was miner Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd (ASX: KCN). Kingsgate shares shot up 15.89% this session to finish at $4.23 each.
This came after the company reported some guidance and production updates, which clearly went down well with the market.
Here's how the other top stocks tied up at the dock:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd (ASX: KCN) | $4.23 | 15.89% |
| Mesoblast Ltd (ASX: MSB) | $2.59 | 8.82% |
| Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP) | $3.20 | 8.47% |
| NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) | $13.81 | 5.66% |
| FireFly Metals Ltd (ASX: FFM) | $1.84 | 5.44% |
| Block Inc (ASX: XYZ) | $118.15 | 5.18% |
| Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU) | $17.54 | 5.09% |
| James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX) | $37.15 | 4.41% |
| Elevra Lithium Ltd (ASX: ELV) | $9.25 | 4.05% |
| IGO Ltd (ASX: IGO) | $7.00 | 3.86% |
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.
