Winners and losers
Despite the market's jump to a new record territory, there were a few sectors that missed out on a rise.
Leading those red sectors were consumer staples stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) suffered a nasty 2.69% drop this Friday, assisted by the frosty reception to the earnings of Coles Group Ltd (ASX: COL).
Tech shares were also out of favour, with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) giving back 0.32% today.
We could describe what happened to financial stocks in a similar manner. The S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) went backwards by 0.24%.
Consumer discretionary shares were our last losers, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ)'s 0.05% dip.
With the losers out of the way, let's get to the winners now. Leading the charge higher were gold stocks. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) enjoyed a 1.95% surge this Friday.
Utilities shares ran hot too, with the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) soaring 1.41%.
Communications stocks also saw strong demand. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) jumped up 1.28% by the close of trade.
Mining shares weren't short of buyers either, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ)'s 1% leap.
Energy stocks were in a similar boat. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) saw its value lift 0.94% this session.
Industrial shares didn't miss out, with the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) bouncing up 0.64%.
Nor did real estate investment trusts (REITs). The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) added 0.43% to its total today.
Finally, healthcare stocks managed to get over the line, as you can see from the S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ)'s 0.1% bump.
Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown
Our top stock this Friday was US-based tech stock Block Inc (ASX: XYZ). Block blew away its competition with its shares exploding 27.83% higher today to $94.15 each.
This massive gain followed the company's release of its quarterly and full-year results this morning.
Here's the rest of this Friday's best:
