Well, the mild positivity that kicked off the trading week yesterday certainly didn't last until this Tuesday. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) suffered one of its worst trading days of the year this session, with investors selling down stocks with a vengeance.
By the time trading wrapped up, a full 1.94% had been knocked off the ASX 200. That leaves the index at 8,469.1 points, its lowest level since June.
This traumatic Tuesday for the ASX comes after a nasty start to the American trading week up on Wall Street this morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) had a rough day, dropping 1.18%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was a little better, 'only' falling 0.84%.
But let's grit our teeth and get back to the local markets now, for a post-mortem of the performances of the different ASX sectors.
Winners and losers
We didn't have one sector that escaped today's carnage.
The best place to have had money in though, was consumer staples stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) rose out of the storm relatively well, only slipping 0.20% lower.
Healthcare shares were also spared the worst of it, with the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) sliding 0.52%.
Investors stepped up the selling of utilities shares, though. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) took a 0.74% dip this session.
Industrial stocks weren't any better. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) took a 1.29% dive today.
Nor were consumer discretionary shares, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) sinking 1.33%.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) were also down triple-digits, as you can see by the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ)'s 1.37% downgrade.
Communications stocks were in a similar ballpark. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) was sent home with a 1.4% chip this Tuesday.
Things started getting nasty for energy shares, though, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ)'s 1.78% tumble.
Financial stocks were offloaded. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) tanked 1.9% by the closing bell.
As were mining shares, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) cratering by 3%.
Gold stocks were torched by investors. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) plunged down a horrid 4.62%.
But the worst place to be invested in this session was in tech shares, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ)'s devastating 5.99% crash.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Building materials stock James Hardie Industries plc (ASX: JHX) was our lucky winner on this brutal day for the markets. James Hardie managed to buck the trend well, shooting 9.87% higher to close at $27.94 a share.
This impressive jump followed the company's latest quarterly update, which clearly gave investors a safe haven to hide out in.
Here's how the other top stocks tied up at the dock: