It was a very pleasant Tuesday for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and most ASX shares during today's trading.
Investors shook off some early morning jitters to propel the ASX 200 higher by the time the closing bell rang at the stock exchange, possibly thanks to the Reserve Bank of Australia keeping interest rates on hold. The index ended up gaining 0.36% today to finish up at 7,703.2 points.
This happy Tuesday follows an encouraging start to the American trading week over on Wall Street last night.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) kicked off its week in style, rising 0.2%.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) did even better again, bouncing 0.82% higher.
But time now to check out what was going on in the local markets today with a look at the various ASX sectors.
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Winners and losers
We had plenty of both winners and losers today.
Starting off with the losers, it was consumer staples shares that got shunned the most this Tuesday. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) tanked by 0.84%.
Financial stocks were also punished by investors. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) was sent down 0.48% by the closing bell.
Communications shares suffered a similar fate, with the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) getting a 0.42% whack.
Consumer discretionary stocks weren't quite as on the nose as consumer staples shares, but the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) still endured a 0.38% sell-off today.
ASX healthcare shares failed to live up to their name this session, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s loss of 0.35%.
Tech stocks were another sore point. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) retreated by 0.23%.
Our final loser was the industrial sector. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) was given a 0.18% downgrade by investors.
Turning to the winners now, it was miners who took out today's gold medal. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) surged 2.11% over today's trading.
Energy stocks were right behind that, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ)'s 1.98% leap higher.
Gold shares had a great time too. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) shone with a rise of 1.72%.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) weren't left out either. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) vaulted 1.13% higher.
Utilities stocks were the final winners for today's trading. But you wouldn't know it from the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)'s 0.76% bump.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Taking out today's index crown was mining stock Nickel Industries Ltd (ASX: NIC). Nickel Industries shares soared by a pleasing 8.11% up to 80 cents each.
There was no fresh news out of the company today, but investors did give Nickel Industries shares a whack yesterday after a quarterly update.
Here's how the rest of today's top stocks closed out:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Nickel Industries Ltd (ASX: NIC) | $0.80 | 8.11% |
| Bellevue Gold Ltd (ASX: BGL) | $1.835 | 7.00% |
| Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX: TAH) | $0.80 | 5.26% |
| West African Resources Ltd (ASX: WAF) | $1.05 | 5.00% |
| Strike Energy Ltd (ASX: STX) | $0.25 | 4.17% |
| Karoon Energy Ltd (ASX: KAR) | $2.01 | 4.15% |
| Arcadium Lithium plc (ASX: LTM) | $7.11 | 3.95% |
| New Hope Corporation Ltd (ASX: NHC) | $4.60 | 3.84% |
| Fortescue Ltd (ASX: FMG) | $24.54 | 3.59% |
| Newmont Corporation (ASX: NEM) | $52.48 | 3.16% |
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.
