It turned out to be a fairly depressing Thursday for ASX shares and the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) today. After yesterday's pleasing rise, ASX investors were treated to a big sell-off today. By the end of trading, the ASX 200 had cratered by a nasty 1.36% to back below 7,000 points, ending the day at 6,981.6 points.
Today's horrid falls on the ASX follow an equally horrible night up on the American markets last night (our time).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) had a terrible time of it during the US's Wednesday session, clanging down 0.98%. It was even worse for the Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC), which was smashed with a 1.62% sell-off.
Let's grit our teeth and get back to the ASX now, with a look at how the different ASX sectors went today.
Winners and losers
Almost every sector recorded a backwards step today, albeit with one predictable exception (more on that in a moment).
Leading today's ASX losses were tech stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) had a terrible time today, tanking by a hefty 1.84%.
That was closely followed by ASX consumer staples shares, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) sliding 1.63%.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) were another sore spot. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) lost a chunky 1.55%.
It wasn't much better for the financials shares space, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ)'s loss of 1.5%.
Industrials shares, were also on the nose, with the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) losing 1.49% of its value.
Mining shares weren't spared the pain either, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) falling 1.44%.
Consumer discretionary stocks weren't quite as hard-hit as their staples counterparts, but the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) still nosedived by 1.32%.
The healthcare sector only fared slightly better, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s retreat of 1.14%.
ASX energy shares were the first of the losers to fall by less than 1%. But the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ)'s 0.7% downward move probably didn't make anyone happy.
Communications shares were on the milder side of the falls today, with the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) sliding down 0.62%.
The sole winner today and the safe haven of ASX investors was aptly the gold sector. ASX gold shares rocketed amid the carnage on the markets today, with the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) rising 1.14%.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
ASX tech share Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) ended up taking out the top ASX spot today, with its gain of 6.75% to $3.32 a share.
As we covered this afternoon, investors were flooding into the Weebit share price after the company revealed it had signed a commercial agreement with the South Korean foundry DB HiTek.
Here's a look at the rest of today's top performers:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) | $3.32 | 6.75% |
| Northern Star Resources Ltd (ASX: NST) | $11.98 | 4.36% |
| ARB Corporation Ltd (ASX: ARB) | $30.53 | 4.09% |
| Bapcor Ltd (ASX: BAP) | $5.60 | 2.56% |
| Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) | $0.605 | 1.68% |
| Gold Road Resources Ltd (ASX: GOR) | $1.87 | 1.63% |
| Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW) | $3.21 | 1.58% |
| ResMed Inc (ASX: RMD) | $22.62 | 1.16% |
| Ramsay Health Care Limited (ASX: RHC) | $50.49 | 1.04% |
| Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) | $1.485 | 1.02% |
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.
