Well, it was an abysmal start to the trading week this Monday for ASX investors, no other way to say it. The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) had a gentle week last week. But all of that was forgotten when the markets opened today. By the time the closing bell rang, the ASX 200 had plunged 1.74% lower, leaving the index at 7,843.4 points.
This horrid start to the trading week for the Australian markets comes after a similarly depressing session up on Wall Street on Saturday morning (our time).
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was a horror show, dropping 1.69%.
It was even worse for the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC), which crashed 2.7% lower.
Let's grit our teeth now and return to this week and our local market for an autopsy of the various ASX sectors in this session.
Winners and losers
It was a sea of red on the markets today, with not one sector escaping the market carnage.
Leading the crash were mining shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) was smashed today, freefalling 3.35%.
Energy stocks were also punished, with the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) plunging 2.68%.
It was a rough day for real estate investment trusts (REITs) as well. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) crashed down 2.11%.
Consumer discretionary shares came next, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ)'s 1.54% dive.
Communications stocks were right behind that. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) slumped 1.52% today.
Healthcare shares weren't let off the hook, with the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) tumbling 1.34%.
Then we had gold stocks. A record-high gold price didn't stop the All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) from tanking 1.33% this session.
Industrial shares weren't much better, as you'll see by the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)'s 1.28% selldown.
Nor were tech shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) saw its value eroded by 1.35% this Monday.
Next came utilities stocks, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) cratering 1.18%.
Consumer staples shares were among the better performers. However, the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) still lost 1.05% of its value.
The best sector for today's trading is financial stocks. Even so, the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) was still walked back by 1.03%.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
There wasn't much competition today, but the best-faring stock came in at packaging share Orora Ltd (ASX: ORA). Orora stock rose by 4.44% this Monday to finish at $1.88 a share.
This jump came after Orora released an update regarding its Saverglass company.
Here are the other shares that escaped today's market savagery: