The local share market has ended a dismal year with a bit of a whimper.
After being up as many as 53 points in early trading and again close to that by late afternoon, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index fell steadily in the final 30 minutes of trading to close Friday up just 18.6 points, or 0.27 percent, at 7038.7.
The broader All Ordinaries gained 24.4 points, or 0.34 percent, to 7221.7.
For the year, the ASX200 finished down 5.45 percent, its worst performance since 2018. While the index gained 8.7 percent over the fourth quarter, it ended December down 3.4 percent for the month.
It finished the holidays-shortened week down one percent, its fourth straight week in the red….