It was a rough end to the trading week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and many ASX shares this Friday.

After a strong start to the week, the ASX 200 continued Thursday's pessimism today, with the index dropping 0.42% this session to close the week at 8,294.1 points.

This rather sombre conclusion to the trading week on the ASX follows a mixed session over on the American markets this morning.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) performed solidly, rising 0.25%

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) went the other way though, slipping down 0.05%.

Let's get back to this Friday now though and take a look at how the different ASX sectors are going into the weekend.

Winners and losers

As one would expect, the losers outnumbered the winners today.

Leading said losers were financial stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) cratered by 1.17% by the closing bell.

Consumer staples shares also had a rough one, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) slumping 0.91%.

The same could be said of healthcare stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) plunged down 0.71%.

Communications shares fared poorly as well, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ)'s 0.62% loss.

Energy stocks were right behind that. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) endured a 0.59% dive.

Consumer discretionary shares did a little better, although the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) still retreated 0.33%.

Utilities shares were in investors' bad books, too. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) was walked back by 0.25%.

Tech stocks were in the same ballpark, as you'll see from the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ)'s 0.21% dip.

Industrial shares were also among the losers. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) was sent home 0.17% lower.

Our final losers were real estate investment trusts (REITs), with the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) sliding 0.02% down.

Turning to the far less numerous winners now, gold stocks were once again the stars of the show. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) ended up shooting 0.97% higher.

Finally, broader mining shares were just behind that, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ)'s 0.96% rise.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Coming out on top this Friday was recycling stock Sims Ltd (ASX: SGM). Sims shares had a great day, shooting up 6.18% to finish the week at $13.40 a share.

This gain came despite no fresh news out from the company for a while now. Perhaps positive sentiment towards other mining shares helped.

Here's a look at the other index winners from today's trading: