The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) suffered yet another fall this Thursday, its third of the trading week thus far.
By the time trading wrapped up today, the ASX 200 had been sent home 0.57% lower and back under 8,100 points. The index now stands at 8,094.7 points.
This unhappy session for ASX investors follows a far more optimistic morning for US stocks on Wall Street last night.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) rebounded spectacularly, shooting up 1.14%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) did even better, rocketing 1.46% higher.
But let's get back to the ASX now and take a look at how the different ASX sectors traversed today's market.
As we would expect, the losers outnumbered the winners today.
Leading said losers were energy stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) got another belting from investors today, plunging 2.87%.
Utility shares were singled out for punishment too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) tanking 2.07%.
Consumer discretionary stocks were next. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) cratered by 1.12% by the closing bell.
Financial shares also found themselves on the losers' side, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ)'s 0.86% dive.
Industrial stocks were there too. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) went down 0.61% today.
Healthcare shares didn't exactly live up to their name today, with the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) slumping 0.46%.
Consumer staples stocks were sold off this Thursday as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) saw its value slide 0.29% lower.
Our final losers were real estate investment trusts (REITs), evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ)'s 0.03% slip.
Turning to the winners now, it was gold stocks that again ran the hottest. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) exploded 2.7% higher this Thursday.
Broader mining shares came next, but the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) was quite tame by comparison, rising 0.18%.
Then we had communications stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) ticked up by 0.14% by the market close.
Finally, tech shares escaped the market's malaise too, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ)'s 0.1% lift.
Making it two for two, today's best stock was again gold miner West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF). West African shares soared another 11.94% today to close at $2.11 a share.
This big gain came after the miner released its latest annual report, which evidently delighted investors.
Here's the rest of today's best:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF) | $2.11 | 11.94% |
| Johns Lyng Group Ltd (ASX: JLG) | $2.78 | 7.75% |
| Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) | $1.32 | 7.35% |
| Sandfire Resources Ltd (ASX: SFR) | $11.26 | 4.84% |
| Cochlear Ltd (ASX: COH) | $275.38 | 4.59% |
| REA Group Ltd (ASX: REA) | $256.57 | 4.30% |
| Vault Minerals Ltd (ASX: VAU) | $0.415 | 3.75% |
| South32 Ltd (ASX: S32) | $3.64 | 3.70% |
| Westgold Resources Ltd (ASX: WGX) | $2.53 | 3.69% |
| Centuria Capital Group (ASX: CNI) | $1.61 | 2.88% |
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.
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