Wall Street JournalAfter a shaky start this morning, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) recorded another positive session this Thursday, bringing the week's winning streak to four-for-four.
By the time trading finished up, the ASX 200 had ticked 0.24% higher, leaving the index at 8,145.6 points.
This decent showing from the Australian markets comes after a tentative session up on the American markets overnight.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) overcame an early slump to finish 0.35% higher.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) wasn't quite so lucky, though, sliding 0.086% lower.
Let's return to the local markets now and take a look at how today's market gains filtered down to the different ASX sectors.
Winners and losers
Despite the overall lift for the ASX, we still saw a few sectors miss out on a rise.
The biggest losers were energy shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) had a rough one today, plunging down 1.35%.
Gold stocks were also punished, with the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) diving 0.96%.
Broader mining shares weren't much better. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) ended up losing 0.84% of its value today.
Utilities stocks couldn't quite break even, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)'s 0.13% loss.
Financial shares were our final losers. But barely, with the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) slipping just 0.01% lower.
Turning to the winners now, the best place to have had money this Thursday was tech stocks, with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) rocketing 4.01% higher.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) ran hot, too. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) ended up soaring 1.67% higher.
Consumer staples stocks were in demand as well, as you'll see by the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) surging 1.42%.
Industrial shares also put on a good showing. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) added a confident 0.94% to its total today.
Communications stocks fared decently, with the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) lifting 0.75%.
Following communications stocks, we had consumer discretionary shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) got a 0.41% bump from investors.
Finally, healthcare stocks made the winner's cut, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.36% rise.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Today's top performer on the index was HMC Capital Ltd (ASX: HMC). HMC shares jumped up a healthy 8.23% today to close at $5.26 each.
This big move came despite no fresh news or announcements out of the company.
Here are the rest of today's winners: