The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) endured yet another rough trading session this Friday, ending what has been a rather negative trading week on a low.
The ASX 200 spent all day deep in red territory this session, and closed 0.41% lower, leaving the index at a flat 8,296 points as we head into the weekend.
Today's miserly finish to the Australian trading week comes after a decidedly negative Thursday session up on Wall Street this morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was in a foul mood, dropping 0.53%.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) did even worse though, losing 0.66% of its value.
But let's get back to ASX shares now and check out how the various ASX sectors navigated today's tough trading conditions.
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Winners and losers
As one might expect, we only had a couple of sectors that eked out a rise in today's market.
But more on those in a moment.
The worst place to have had money invested in this Friday was in gold shares. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) was punished today, and was smashed down 2.23%.
Broader mining stocks were hit hard as well, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) crashing 1.84% lower.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) were also amongst the worst losers. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) tanked by 0.77% today.
Utilities shares came next, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)'s 0.46% dive.
ASX tech stocks were swept up in the negativity as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) fell by 0.44%.
Communications shares fared a little better, but the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) was still walked back by 0.32%.
Consumer staples stocks were no safe haven either. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) ended up taking a 0.2% bath today.
Healthcare shares marginally improved on that, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.19% dip.
Consumer discretionary stocks had an anaemic day. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) recorded a 0.09% decline.
Our final losers were industrial shares, with the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) inching 0.02% lower.
Turning to the winners now, it was energy stocks that were the best place to be today. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) bucked the market to charge 0.44% higher.
The other sector that escaped a loss was financial shares, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ)'s 0.16% lift.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Topping out the index this Friday was infrastructure company Ventia Services Group Ltd (ASX: VNT). Ventia shares had a great session today, vaulting 10.82% higher to finish at $3.69 a share.
This may have been a bounceback after yesterday's 22.56% drop after allegations emerged that Ventia had engaged in anti-competitive behaviour.
Here's a look at the rest of today's best:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Ventia Services Group Ltd (ASX: VNT) | $3.69 | 10.81% |
| IRESS Ltd (ASX: IRE) | $9.38 | 8.19% |
| Insignia Financial Ltd (ASX: IFL) | $3.61 | 6.18% |
| Paladin Energy Ltd (ASX: PDN) | $7.95 | 4.74% |
| Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX: TAH) | $0.595 | 4.39% |
| Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) | $2.61 | 3.98% |
| Deep Yellow Ltd (ASX: DYL) | $1.28 | 2.81% |
| Star Entertainment Group Ltd (ASX: SGR) | $0.195 | 2.63% |
| IDP Education Ltd (ASX: IEL) | $12.24 | 2.60% |
| Web Travel Group Ltd (ASX: WEB) | $4.69 | 2.18% |
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.
