It turned out to be a day of high relief for ASX investors, with the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) finally recording a positive session after five days of falls in a row.

By the close of trade, the ASX 200 had gained a decent 0.48%, which leaves the index at 7,642.1 points.

This strong Thursday session for the Australian stock market comes after a contrastingly negative night up on the American markets overnight.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) ended up closing in the red after initially rising, notching a 0.12% loss.

The Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) fared far worse though, tanking by 1.15%.

But let's return to more positive things, with a look at what the various ASX sectors were up to today.

As one might anticipate, we had more winners than losers this Thursday.

But losers we still had. The most prominent of which were healthcare shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) missed out on the good mood today, slumping 0.47%.

Communications stocks were also left behind. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) ended up losing 0.25%.

Last and least on the losers list was energy shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ) gave up 0.1% of its value.

Turning now to the winners, it was ASX tech shares leading the charge this Thursday. The S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) was back in hot demand, surging by 1.01%.

Mining stocks closely followed tech, with the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) soaring 0.99%.

Financial shares also had a great day, exemplified by the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ)'s 0.66% pop.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) were on fire as well. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) banked a rise of 0.55% by the closing bell.

Utilities stocks weren't left out either. The S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ) ended up getting a 0.5% bump from investors.

Industrial shares performed similarly, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ)'s lift of 0.4%.

Consumer discretionary stocks were making their investors happy too. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) recorded a 0.2% raise today.

Gold shares snatched a win as well. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) managed to eke out a small 0.04% gain.

Finally, consumer staples stocks mirrored gold shares, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) inching 0.04% upwards.

Today's top Thursday stock was healthcare share Telix Pharmaceuticals Ltd (ASX: TLX).

Telix shares rocketed a happy 9.41% to $13.72 each today after hitting a new record high during intraday trading. This was thanks to a well-received quarterly update from the company this morning.

Here's a look at the rest of today's happiest shares:

Our top 10 shares countdown is a recurring end-of-day summary to let you know which companies were making big moves on the day. Check in at Fool.com.au after the weekday market closes to see which stocks make the countdown.