It was a bit of a sour end to the trading week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and many ASX shares this Friday. After a bumpy trading week that saw the markets swing from gains to losses, investors ended up siding with the pessimists over today's session.
After keeping to red territory all day, the ASX 200 ended up closing 0.5% lower. That leaves the index at 8,796.7 points as we head into the weekend.
This rough day for the Australian markets followed a similar session on Wall Street overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was not in a good mood, dropping 0.2% lower.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was punished even harder, falling a nasty 1.47%.
But let's return to the local boards now and take a closer look at what was happening with the various ASX sectors this Friday.
Image source: Getty Images
Winners and losers
No one should be surprised to see that there were more losers than winners today.
Leading said losers were gold stocks. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) was slammed this session, crashing 4.95%.
Broader mining shares were also slammed, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) tanking 2.91%.
Tech stocks sank hard as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) cratered 1.6%.
Next on the red list were healthcare shares, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.34% dive.
Our final losers this Friday were financial stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) lifted 0.1% by the closing bell.
Let's turn to the green sectors now. It was utilities shares that fronted the pack, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) surging up 1.77%.
Energy stocks ran hot, too. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) soared 1.66% higher this Friday.
Communications shares were also in demand, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ)'s 1.62% lift.
Consumer staples stocks weren't left out either. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) bounced up 1.06% today.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) came next, with the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) seeing its value spike 1.02%.
After REITs, we had industrial shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) enjoyed a 0.65% improvement this session.
Last and least, consumer discretionary stocks just stuck the landing, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ)'s 0.48% jump.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Today's top stock was once again the financial services company AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP). AMP shares rocketed another 6.32% today to close at $2.02 each.
This seems to be a continuation of the goodwill we saw yesterday following the earnings update that was released.
Here's the rest of today's best:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| AMP Ltd (ASX: AMP) | $2.02 | 6.32% |
| Brambles Ltd (ASX: BXB) | $19.44 | 3.46% |
| Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX: WDS) | $30.46 | 3.29% |
| Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL) | $23.21 | 2.88% |
| Amcor plc (ASX: AMC) | $63.77 | 2.84% |
| Telstra Group Ltd (ASX: TLS) | $5.04 | 2.65% |
| Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA) | $6.10 | 2.52% |
| Domino's Pizza Enterprises Ltd (ASX: DMP) | $17.62 | 2.50% |
| Ingenia Communities Ltd (ASX: INA) | $4.29 | 2.39% |
| Generation Development Group Ltd (ASX: GDG) | $3.56 | 2.30% |
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.
