It was a rather wild, but still overall positive, day for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this Thursday.
After stints in both red and green territory this session, the ASX 200 ended up closing slightly ahead, recording a 0.085% rise up to 8,205.2 points.
This tentatively bullish day for the ASX comes after a similarly nervous night over on the American markets.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) pulled off a win, but only just, rising by 0.094%.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) fared similarly, gaining 0.082%.
But let's return to the ASX now and check out what was going on amongst the different ASX sectors this Thursday.
Winners and losers
Despite today's market rise, we had plenty of losers.
Chief amongst those were gold shares. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) had a terrible time today, tanking 0.99%.
Utilities stocks were also shunned, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) plunging 0.41%.
Consumer discretionary shares had a day to forget, too. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) slumped 0.35%.
Its consumer staples stocks counterpart fared better, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ)'s 0.13% loss.
ASX financial shares found themselves on the wrong side of the ledger as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) suffered a 0.1% writedown.
Mining stocks were left out by investors, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) sliding down 0.08% today.
Energy shares were the last losers. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) slipped 0.07% lower.
Turning to the winners now, real estate investment trusts (REITs) took charge. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) rocketed up a happy 1.67% this session.
Communications stocks were a lot less enthusiastic, but the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) still managed a 0.35% improvement.
Industrial shares were in the same ballpark. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) put on 0.3%.
Healthcare stocks returned to a healthy state as well, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.21% rise.
Finally, tech shares eked out a gain. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) lifted 0.15%.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Healthcare stock Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) took out the top spot for the third day in a row this week.
Sigma shares added another rosy 8.14% to finish at $2.06 each. Once again, it appears that the potential merger with Chemist Warehouse is to thank here.
Here's a look at the rest of today's best shares:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) | $2.06 | 8.14% |
| Deep Yellow Ltd (ASX: DYL) | $1.54 | 3.37% |
| Charter Hall Social Infrastructure REIT (ASX: CQE) | $2.89 | 3.21% |
| Dexus (ASX: DXS) | $7.81 | 3.03% |
| Light & Wonder Inc (ASX: LNW) | $130.53 | 2.93% |
| Mirvac Group (ASX: MGR) | $2.21 | 2.79% |
| Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX: CLW) | $4.06 | 2.78% |
| Monadelphous Group Ltd (ASX: MND) | $13.13 | 2.66% |
| Lifestyle Communities Ltd (ASX: LIC) | $8.93 | 2.53% |
| HMC Capital Ltd (ASX: HMC) | $8.36 | 2.45% |
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.