The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has just endured a horror day as investors scramble for the exits amid widespread fears over ASX sales.
By the end of today's trading, the ASX 200 had cratered by a nasty 1.28%, leaving the index at a new six-month low of 6,943.4 points.
This terrible Tuesday for ASX shares comes after a more upbeat session up on Wall Street last night (our time).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) had a mild fall, slipping by 0.22%. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) recorded a solid rise of 0.67%.
I know which market I would have rather been in. But let's grit our teeth and return to the ASX for a look at how the different ASX sectors performed.
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Winners and losers
It was a bit of a bloodbath on the ASX boards today, as you might imagine, with only one sector eking out a rise. But more on that in a moment.
Leading the ASX's losses this Tuesday was the gold sector. Gold shares had an absolute shocker, with the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) getting thrown out with a horrid 3.95% collapse.
It wasn't much better for ASX energy shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) was also left on the side of the proverbial road, cratering by 3.69%.
It wasn't much better for utilities stocks either. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) endured a drop of 2.88%.
Miners weren't spared from the carnage, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ)'s loss of 2.29%.
Tech shares were on the nose as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) tanked by 2.09%.
Then we have real estate investment trusts (REITs). The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) was thrown out with the bathwater, pulled down by 2.03%.
ASX financials shares were spared the worst of the falls today, but the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) still got marked down 0.6%.
The same could be said of consumer staples stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) ended up losing 0.45% of its value.
Its discretionary counterpart, the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ), fared only slightly better with its 0.21% slip.
As promised, there was one sector that escaped the market carnage. And that was the ASX healthcare space. But even healthcare investors probably won't be too fazed by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) rise of 0.24%.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
As you might expect from such a savage trading day, it was a pretty anaemic showing from the top ten shares this Tuesday.
Leading the winners was ASX healthcare share Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU).
The Neuren share price pulled off a solid 2.33% rise to $11.44 a share, despite no fresh news or announcements out of the company for a while now.
Here's how the rest of the ASX's top ten shares fared this session:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU) | $11.44 | 2.33% |
| Fletcher Building Ltd (ASX: FBU) | $4.44 | 1.6% |
| Bega Cheese Ltd (ASX: BGA) | $2.52 | 1.2% |
| Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX: TAH) | $0.945 | 1.07% |
| CSL Limited (ASX: CSL) | $248.71 | 0.95% |
| Graincorp Ltd (ASX: GNC) | $6.84 | 0.88% |
| Aristocrat Leisure Limited (ASX: ALL) | $40.88 | 0.69% |
| ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD) | $23.04 | 0.48% |
| Fisher & Paykel Healthcare Corporation Ltd (ASX: FPH) | $19.96 | 0.35% |
| Brambles Limited (ASX: BXB) | $14.33 | 0.07% |
Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to let you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.
