It was a wild session for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) this Thursday as investors continued to digest the impact of this week's American elections.
After several stints in both positive and negative territory today, the ASX 200 ended up eking out a 0.33% rise, which leaves the index at 8,226.3 points.
This bouncy day for Australian investors follows a euphoric session on Wall Street in the early hours of this morning.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) rocketed a whopping 3.57% and hit a new all-time high in the process.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) also roared higher, gaining 2.95%.
But let's return to the local markets now and see how the different ASX sectors performed this Thursday.
Winners and losers
Despite the market's overall gain, we still had quite a few sectors that took a backward step.
Most conspicuously amongst those were gold shares. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) was punished this session, crashing 6.21%.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) also had a shocker, with the S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) cratering 2.14%.
Utilities stocks pulled up far better though. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) declined by 0.64%.
Healthcare shares did better again, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) losing 0.27% of its value.
ASX consumer discretionary stocks came next. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) retreated 0.25%.
Its consumer staples counterpart halved that loss, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) shrinking 0.12%.
Our final losers were communications shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) slipped 0.06% today.
Turning to the winners now, it was energy shares that led the charge higher this Thursday. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) soared 2.29% by the closing bell.
Industrial stocks had a strong session too, as you'll see from the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)'s 1.01% surge.
Financial shares were the next cab off the rank. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) bounced 0.78% higher.
Tech stocks fared decently too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) lifting 0.75%.
Finally, mining shares round out our list. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) rose 0.42% today.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Today's winner, and by a mile, was Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG). Sigma shares rocketed a huge 24.94% to finish at $2.43 a share.
This spike comes after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission gave the proposed merger with Chemist Warehouse its final green light today.
Here's a look at the other top stocks from today's trading:
| ASX-listed company | Share price | Price change |
| Sigma Healthcare Ltd (ASX: SIG) | $2.43 | 24.94% |
| Neuren Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: NEU) | $14.40 | 8.52% |
| Computershare Ltd (ASX: CPU) | $29.22 | 6.10% |
| Johns Lyng Group Ltd (ASX: JLG) | $4.13 | 5.63% |
| Alcoa Corporation (ASX: AAI) | $68.47 | 5.60% |
| BlueScope Steel Ltd (ASX: BSL) | $22.93 | 5.52% |
| Worley Ltd (ASX: WOR) | $15.18 | 5.42% |
| Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (ASX: TAH) | $0.51 | 5.15% |
| Credit Corp Group Ltd (ASX: CCP) | $18.20 | 4.90% |
| QBE Insurance Group Ltd (ASX: QBE) | $18.47 | 4.82% |
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.