Day traders' after-market lounge December 7

Thanks afternoon crew.

End-of-day summary:

A third night of falls on Wall Street helped drag the local share market lower despite a rebound in energy stocks amid reports of merger talks between Woodside and Santos.

The ASX 200 finished five points or 0.07% in the red. The energy sector swung from a 2% loss to a gain of 0.25% following media reports that the domestic market's two largest energy companies have explored hooking up. Santos shares bounced 0.74%. Woodside gained 0.44%.

Other gains today included Fortescue Metals, Newmont, Transurban and Westpac.

Falling energy prices were compounded by soft leads from Wall Street, where the S&P 500 dipped 0.39% to a third straight loss.