Day traders' Christmas lounge December 22 - 26

Ho-ho ho. So that's us until after the Fat Man does his thing and the Boxing Day shenanigans are done and dusted. Four days of festive tomfoolery. A good time to recharge and reflect on a year that's finishing in a much better place than seemed likely two short months ago.

May the Fat Man bring all you desire and may we be grateful for all we receive, even if it's not that new guitar that we (okay, I) really really really want.

Until the next trade, have yourself a merry little Christmas.


End-of-day summary:

The share market reached the Christmas break near its highest level in 10 months despite a modest late dip this afternoon.

The ASX 200 eased 2.5 points or 0.03% on the last session until next Wednesday, thanks to selling pressure in the closing auction.

Resource stocks cushioned the market against a deeper loss as Fortescue Metals climbed 1.14% to an all-time high. Goodman Group, Woodside and Coles were also on the rise. Macquarie Group, Transurban and Woolworths helped drag the index into the red.

Overnight, the Dow and Nasdaq rose for the 10th time in 11 sessions. Investors welcomed data that supported the theory the economy is cooling fast enough to stave off further rate rises, but not so fast that a hard landing comes into play. The S&P 500 put on 1.03%.

US futures were mildly negative at the Australian market close. S&P 500 futures eased 0.15%. Wall Street will trade twice before the ASX reopens - tonight, then Tuesday.