It was a very pleasant start to the trading week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this Monday.
After a rather horrid week last week, investors seemed to come back from the weekend with a renewed sense of optimism. The ASX 200 ended up gaining a solid 0.9% over today's trading, leaving the index at 8,245.7 points.
This strong start to the week's trading for the local markets comes after a bullish finish to the American trading week on Saturday morning (our time).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was in fine form, shooting 1.39% higher.
It was even better for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC), which galloped up 1.63%.
Time now to dig into the ASX's performance today and check out what the various ASX sectors were up to.
Winners and losers
There wasn't one sector that missed out on today's market gains.
The worst place to be was in financial stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) was less enthusiastic than others, but still inched 0.16% higher.
Consumer staples shares were also relatively muted, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) getting a 0.32% bump.
Utility stocks came next. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) ended up rising a confident 0.71% today.
Healthcare shares were just ahead of that, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.75% lift.
Industrial stocks did better again. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) saw its value climb 0.93%.
Gold shares didn't miss out either, with the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) banking a 1.21% gain.
Consumer discretionary stocks landed just ahead of that. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) ended up adding 1.25% to its total.
Next up, we had real estate investment trusts (REITs), as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ)'s 1.37% hike.
Communications shares raced ahead. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) swelled by 1.49% today.
Mining stocks had a top day too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) galloping 1.63% higher.
Investors stepped on the gas with tech shares though. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) surged up by 1.78%.
Coming out on top of the index today was energy stocks, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ)'s 2.02% vault higher.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Building services company Johns Lyng Group Ltd (ASX: JLG) took out today's top index spot.
Johns Lyng shares soared 784% higher today to close at $2.75 each.
This move came despite no major news out of the company this Monday.
Here are the other top shares from today's trading:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Johns Lyng Group Ltd (ASX: JLG) | $2.75 | 7.84% |
| Kelsian Group Ltd (ASX: KLS) | $3.33 | 7.42% |
| Boss Energy Ltd (ASX: BOE) | $2.64 | 6.45% |
| Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN) | $23.93 | 5.37% |
| Audinate Group Ltd (ASX: AD8) | $8.88 | 4.96% |
| Qantas Airways Ltd (ASX: QAN) | $9.99 | 4.94% |
| Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (ASX: HVN) | $5.44 | 4.21% |
| Iluka Resources Ltd (ASX: ILU) | $4.31 | 3.86% |
| Polynovo Ltd (ASX: PNV) | $1.49 | 3.85% |
| NextDC Ltd (ASX: NXT) | $8.36 | 3.60% |
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.
