The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) enjoyed an exceptionally happy end to the trading week this Friday, pushing the value of many ASX shares decisively higher. After what has been a rather lacklustre week thus far, investors were clearly in the mood to party today, with the ASX 200 opening well ahead and staying in green territory all session.

By the time the markets closed, the index had added a flat 1% to its total, leaving it at 8,806.7 points as we head into the weekend.

This jubilant session for ASX investors followed a rosy morning over on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average Index (DJX: .DJI) was firing on all cylinders, rising a solid 1.08%.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index (NASDAQ: .IXIC) was more muted though, gaining just 0.076%.

Let’s return to our local markets now and check out what was happening amongst the different ASX sectors .

Winners and losers

Despite today’s solid rises, we still had a few corners of the market that missed out.

Most prominent of those sectors were consumer staples shares. The S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Staples Index (ASX: XSJ) was left out in the cold this Friday, slumping 0.53%.

Financial stocks weren’t in favour either, with the S&P/ASX 200 Financials Index (ASX: XFJ) diving 0.52%.

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) had a rough one too. The S&P/ASX 200 A-REIT Index (ASX: XPJ) sank 0.28% today.

Energy shares were in that ballpark too, illustrated by the S&P/ASX 200 Energy Index (ASX: XEJ)’s 0.26% retreat.

Communications stocks were our final losers. The S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) saw its value dip 0.01%.

Let’s get to the green sectors now. Leading the charge were tech shares, with the S&P/ASX 200 Information Technology Index (ASX: XIJ) exploding 5.62% higher.

Gold stocks had a day to remember too. The All Ordinaries Gold Index (ASX: XGD) surged up 3.99% this session.

We could say the same for broader mining shares, as you can see by the S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ)’s 3.18% jump.

Healthcare stocks also ran hot. The S&P/ASX 200 Healthcare Index (ASX: XHJ) vaulted up 2.49%.

Consumer discretionary shares saw decent demand as well, with the S&P/ASX 200 Consumer Discretionary Index (ASX: XDJ) leaping 1.07% higher.

Next came industrial stocks. The S&P/ASX 200 Industrials Index (ASX: XNJ) added 0.89% to its total today.

Finally, utilities shares finished the week on a positive note, evidenced by the S&P/ASX 200 Utilities Index (ASX: XUJ)’s 0.72% bounce.

Top 10 ASX 200 shares countdown

Chip stock Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT) was our best stock on the index this Friday, beating out some stiff competition. Weebit Nano shares roared 17.07% higher today to close the week at $2.88 each.

This came after the company reported its quarterly cash flows this morning, which were clearly impressive.

Here’s the rest of today’s best:

ASX-listed company	Share price	Price change
Weebit Nano Ltd (ASX: WBT)	$2.88	17.07%
Sunrise Energy Metals Ltd (ASX: SRL)	$15.73	12.76%
Electro Optic Systems Ltd (ASX: EOS)	$9.40	10.07%
DroneShield Ltd (ASX: DRO)	$1.56	9.86%
PDI Gold Ltd (ASX: PDI)	$4.38	9.77%
Elsight Ltd (ASX: ELS)	$3.37	9.06%
WiseTech Global Ltd (ASX: WTC)	$37.61	9.01%
NextGen Energy (Canada) Ltd (ASX: NXG)	$12.39	8.30%
Life360 Inc (ASX: 360)	$20.38	7.66%
IperionX Ltd (ASX: IPX)	$2.08	7.49%

Enjoy the weekend!

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

The post Here are the top 10 ASX 200 shares today appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Sebastian Bowen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has positions in and has recommended DroneShield, Life360, and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool Australia has positions in and has recommended Life360 and WiseTech Global. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

SKS Technologies Group Ltd (ASX: SKS) shares are $6.99 apiece, up 3.1% on Friday.

This has been a bad week for SKS Technologies investors, who have seen their stock plummet 20% in value.

A couple of factors are likely playing into the share price drop.

Let’s investigate.

Why have SKS Technologies shares dropped?

SKS Technologies specialises in the design and installation of electrical technologies and digital infrastructure, including data centres.

It appears the company has been affected by the fallout from the much-anticipated Firmus ASX IPO not going ahead.

Firmus designs and operates data centres. The founders confirmed that the ASX IPO would not proceed last Friday.

Over the past five days, SKS Technologies shares have fallen 20%.

On Tuesday, SKS Technologies responded to a price query from the ASX.

The ASX noted that SKS Technologies shares had traded at an intraday peak of $8.605 before closing at $6.89 on high trading volumes.

SKS Technologies said:

The Company notes that there have been recent announcements involving participants in the broader data centre sector which may have influenced investor sentiment toward companies exposed to the sector.

The Company is not aware of any information that will adversely impact existing projects, or future opportunities relevant to SKS.

The Company’s work in hand and pipeline remains consistent with the ASX announcement as disclosed on Tuesday 7 October.

SKS continues to maintain a strong pipeline of opportunities and remains actively engaged in converting those opportunities into secured
work.

The Company has not received any communication indicating that any future opportunities have been delayed or cancelled and, in recent months, has continued to receive additional inbound opportunities that further support its future growth prospects.

Firmus shareholder and electrical infrastructure contractor, Maas Group Holdings Ltd (ASX: MGH), was also affected by the IPO cancellation.

The Maas share price has fallen 17% this week.

What else has happened?

SKS Technologies Executive Chair Peter Jinks, Executive Director Greg Jinks, and an associated entity of CEO Matthew Jinks sold 10 million shares on-market last Wednesday, 7 October.

That was a day after SKS Technologies announced the awarding of an additional $38 million of work at a Melbourne data centre project.

The majority of the 10 million shares sold belonged to Peter and Greg Jinks.

The sale represented approximately 30% of the shares held by the Jinks family.

ASX disclosures show the shares sold for an average $10.48 apiece.

Peter and Greg Jinks each sold 4,457,000 SKS Technologies shares worth a combined $94.4 million.

SKS Technologies issued a statement explaining why the family had sold such a large position.

The company said:

The Share Sale was in response to a high level of inbound interest from investors, and the Vendors determined that the Share Sale will support the marketability and liquidity of SKS shares, as well as for wealth diversification purposes.

The Jinks family will hold ~21% of the Company and will remain the majority shareholder following completion of the transaction.

SKS Technologies added:

The Jinks family retains strong conviction in the future prospects of the Company and have no intention to conduct further sales for the foreseeable future.

The SKS Technologies share price fell 12% on the day investors learned of the sell-down.

SKS Technologies will hold its annual general meeting (AGM) on Thursday, 26 November.

The post SKS Technologies shares tank 20% after Firmus IPO flop and directors' $94M sale appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

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Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has recommended Sks Technologies Group. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

The S&P/ASX 200 Materials Index (ASX: XMJ) is up 9% in 2026, further capitalising on last year’s 32% growth.

The materials sector, which is dominated by ASX mining shares, was the best-performing sector of 2025.

This year, it’s running fourth behind energy (up 31%), consumer staples (17%), and utilities (10%).

Commodity prices have been resilient in 2026, which has supported mining stock valuations.

The green energy transition and other factors are providing strong drivers for new long-term growth in Australia’s mining sector.

However, over the next five years, the government forecasts many commodity prices to peak in FY27 and decline through to FY31.

With that said, let’s look at some ASX 200 mining shares with buy recommendations from Bell Potter.

PLS Group Ltd (ASX: PLS)

The PLS Group share price is $3.02, up 1.7% today.

This ASX 200 lithium mining share has tumbled 30% in the calendar year to date (YTD).

Bell Potter upgraded PLS Group shares to a buy rating on Wednesday.

The broker cut its 12-month price target from $5.20 to $4.40.

This suggests a potential 45% upside ahead.

Analyst James Williamson said:

We upgrade to a Buy recommendation on recent share price weakness.

At current lithium market prices, PLS will generate substantial earnings and cash flow with the restart of the 200ktpa Ngungaju processing plant.

P2000 and Colina development studies are being progressed, providing organic growth optionality in markets with strong underlying EV and BESS-led long term demand fundamentals.

Minerals 260 Ltd (ASX: MI6)

The Minerals 260 share price is 81 cents, up 6.6% today.

This ASX 200 gold mining share has ripped 88% YTD despite a 3% fall in the gold commodity price.

Bell Potter maintained a speculative buy rating on Minerals 260 shares this week.

The broker kept its 12-month target of $1.45 in place.

This suggests a potential 79% upside ahead.

Analyst David Coates said:

MI6 offers gold exposure via the 6.2Moz BGP, valuation uplift through exploration success, project advancement and de-risking as the BGP progresses towards production.

MI6 is now largely funded to develop the BGP and on track to complete a DFS and make a FID in early CY27, plus secure long-lead items and commence early site works.

Mineral Resources Ltd (ASX: MIN)

The Mineral Resources share price is $44.67, up 0.7% today.

This ASX 200 lithium and iron ore mining share has fallen 19% YTD.

Bell Potter reiterated its buy call on Mineral Resources shares on Wednesday.

The broker slashed its 12-month price target from $75 to $63.

This suggests a potential 41% upside ahead.

Analyst James Williamson said:

Completion of the US$765m MIN-POSCO lithium transaction is expected in the current half, and will accelerate balance sheet deleveraging paired with strong cash flows from iron ore and lithium operations.

MIN’s mining services platform delivers a stable earnings stream that is expected to expand with internal and third-party volume
growth. The company is strongly positioned to execute its next phase of growth, having reinstated dividends.

The post 3 ASX 200 mining shares to buy with 41% to 79% upside ahead: broker appeared first on The Motley Fool Australia.

More reading

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Motley Fool contributor Bronwyn Allen has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia’s parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.