The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) was back to the races this Wednesday, staging a slight recovery that took some of the edge off yesterday's nasty fall. After a wild day of trading, which saw the markets dip into red territory a few times, investors were happy to leave the ASX 200 with a decent 0.28% rise by the time trading closed. That leaves the index at 8,696.5 points.
This happy hump day for the Australian markets followed a far less optimistic session on Wall Street last night.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was still feeling blue, and dropped another 0.63%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) wasn't any better, losing 0.78% of its value.
But let's return to the local markets now and check out what was happening amongst the different ASX sectors today.
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Winners and losers
The biggest losers this Wednesday were consumer staples shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) had a shocker today, dumping 1.15% of its value.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) also had a day to forget, with the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) retreating 0.54%.
Financial stocks were on the nose too. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) was walked back 0.37% this session.
Our last losers were consumer discretionary shares, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ)'s 0.35% decline.
Let's turn to the green sectors now. Leading the charge were energy stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) rocketed 2.19% higher this hump day.
Gold shares had a party as well, with the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) surging 1.48%.
Broader mining stocks didn't miss out. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) soared up 1.28%.
Next came communications shares, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ)s 0.46% bounce.
Industrial stocks were also in that range. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) added 0.36% to its total today.
Tech shares overcame some selling to close higher, with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) putting on 0.3%.
Utilities stocks didn't miss out either. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) saw itsvalue bumped by 0.28%.
Finally, healthcare shares got themselves over the line, as you can see by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 1.5% surge.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Gold stock Pantoro Gold Ltd (ASX: PNR) came in as our top stock today. Pantoro Gold shares jumped 9.3% to close at $2.82 a share. This came after Pantoro revealed some drilling results this morning, which may have excited investors.
Here's how the other winners pulled up at the kerb:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Pantoro Gold Ltd (ASX: PNR) | $2.82 | 9.30% |
| Codan Ltd (ASX: CDA) | $48.94 | 7.51% |
| Alkane Resources Ltd (ASX: ALK) | $1.92 | 5.02% |
| Kingsgate Consolidated Ltd (ASX: KCN) | $5.36 | 4.69% |
| Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) | $1.58 | 4.29% |
| Austal Ltd (ASX: ASB) | $4.34 | 4.08% |
| Centuria Capital Group (ASX: CNI) | $1.33 | 3.92% |
| Infratil Ltd (ASX: IFT) | $11.32 | 3.57% |
| Reliance Worldwide Corporation Ltd (ASX: RWC) | $4.48 | 3.46% |
| Beach Energy Ltd (ASX: BPT) | $0.90 | 3.45% |
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.
