It was a dreary Thursday session for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and many ASX shares today. After some strong gains over the last couple of days, investors pulled back this session.
By the time trading wrapped up, the ASX 200 had slipped by a pessimistic 0.43%, leaving the index at 8,889.2 points.
This rather bleak Thursday session for the local markets comes after a mixed morning up on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) managed to record a solid rise, gaining 0.53%.
However, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) wasn't out of the bad books, copping another 1.51% drop.
But let's get back to the Australian markets now, and see where the damage from today's selling was felt the most amongst the various ASX sectors today.
Winners and losers
Despite the market's falls this Thursday, we still saw far more sectors advance than retreat. But more on those in a moment.
Bearing the brunt of today's bad market mood were gold shares. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) gave up the big gains we saw yesterday to plunge 4.62% this session.
Broader mining stocks weren't much better, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) diving 3.32%.
Energy shares reversed some of yesterday's gains, too. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) sank 1.24% by the end of today's trading.
Our final losers this Thursday were tech stocks, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ)'s 0.13% slide.
Turning to the winners now, it was consumer discretionary shares that were the most popular. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) shot 1.36% higher by market close.
Its consumer staples counterpart saw some significant demand too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) galloping up 0.96%.
Financial shares enjoyed another positive session as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) surged up 0.8% this session.
Communications stocks were a little tamer, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ)'s 0.34% rise.
Industrial shares fared similarly. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) bounced 0.22% higher today.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) put on an identical performance, with the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) also gaining 0.22%.
Healthcare stocks came next. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) increased its value by 0.21% this Thursday.
Finally, we have another tie with utilities shares, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)'s 0.21% bump.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Wine maker Treasury Wine Estates Ltd (ASX: TWE) was our index topper this Thursday. Treasury shares surged 6.98% this session to close at $5.52 a share.
There wasn't any news or announcements out from Treasury today that could easily justify this move, though.
Here's how the other top stocks tied up at the dock today: