It was a wonderful Wednesday session for the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) and most ASX shares today. Building on yesterday's gains, investors ended up sending the ASX 200 up a healthy 0.89% by the end of this session. That leaves the index at 8,541.8 points.
This happy hump day for ASX investors comes after an equally sunny night (metaphorically speaking) on Wall Street.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) put on a solid show, rising 0.51%.
The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) saw more buying pressure though, shooting up 0.81%.
But let's get back to the ASX now and take a deeper dive into today's gains with a look at the respective performances of the various ASX sectors.
Winners and losers
Today's optimism was fairly well spread out on the ASX boards, with only a few sectors missing out on a rise.
The most prominent of those were gold shares. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) was left out in the cold today, retreating 0.91%.
Consumer staples stocks missed out too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) seeing a 0.27% correction.
Our other loser this Wednesday was the communications sector. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) ended up sliding 0.18% lower today.
Turning to the winners now, it was energy stocks that stood out, as you can see by the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ)'s 2.26% surge.
Consumer discretionary shares stood out as well. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) ended up soaring 1.39% higher.
Financial stocks were also in demand, with the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) galloping up 1.27%.
Tech shares ran hot, too. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) added 0.94% to its value this session.
Healthcare stocks saw a nice return, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.69% rise.
As did mining shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) received a 0.68% lift today.
Utilities stocks weren't too far off that, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) shooting 0.57% higher.
Real estate investment trusts (REITs) fared decently as well. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) banked a 0.48% gain this session.
Finally, industrial shares made the cut, evident from the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)'s 0.29% bump.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Today's winner came down to payments company Zip Co Ltd (ASX: ZIP). Zip shares rocketed a huge 13.62% this Wednesday.
This monstrous gain came despite no obvious catalysts, with no price-sensitive news out from Zip.
Here's how the rest of today's best landed the plane