It was a disappointing end to a horrid trading week for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
After falling every day this week, the ASX 200 capped off Friday's session with a 0.32% sell-down. That leaves the index at 8,296.2 points as we head into the weekend, a good 3% below where it finished last week.
This pessimistic conclusion to the Australian trading week comes after a rough morning up on Wall Street for American investors, too.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was in freefall this morning, shedding 1.01%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was a little tamer, but still fell 0.47%.
Let's return to the local markets now, though, and see how the damage from today's trading filtered down into the different ASX sectors.
Winners and losers
Despite today's market drop, quite a few sectors still eked out a rise. But more on those soon.
Firstly, leading the losses today were consumer discretionary stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) crashed by a nasty 1.56% during today's trading.
Communications shares were also punished, with the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) plunging 1.29%.
Financial stocks weren't riding to the rescue either. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) tanked by 1.28% today.
Industrial shares weren't making any friends this Friday, as you can surmise from the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)'s 0.81% dive.
We could say the same for tech stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) suffered a 0.47% swing against it this session.
Energy shares were our final losers, with the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) slipping 0.04% down.
Turning to the winners now, it was mining stocks that stood out today. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) had a wonderful time, soaring 1.56% higher by market close.
Gold shares were right behind that, evidenced by the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD)'s 0.59% rise.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) escaped the carnage as well. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) managed to lift 0.53% this session.
Utility stocks came next, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) shooting up 0.48%.
Consumer staples shares did far better than their discretionary counterparts. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) bounced 0.36% higher today.
Finally, healthcare stocks staged a bit of a recovery, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.04% inch higher.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
This Friday, our index winner was entertainment stock Nine Entertainment Co Holdings Ltd (ASX: NEC).
Nine shares rocketed 20.14% to $1.73 each today. This dramatic jump in valuation came after its partially owned subsidiary Domain Holdings Australia Ltd (ASX: DHG) received a lucrative takeover offer.
Here are the rest of today's big winners: