ASX 200 flat; US contract lifts Austal; SoftBank bid fires up Millenium; Probiotec among gainers; Core, Synlait down

ASX flat after Wall Street gains. Star, Multiplex settle out of court. Overseas bids fire up A2B, Millenium and Probiotec. Defence shipbuilder Austal gets $1.3bn US Navy contract. Core tanks.

Investors are parsing corporate deals and overseas and local economic commentary in the lead up to the festive season break. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Welcome to the Trading Day blog for Friday, December 22. The ASX 200 index closed flat, down less than one point to 7501.60 points, after Wall Street posted strong gains.

The Aussie dollar is near US67.80c. In the overnight session it hit US68.01c, the highest level against the greenback since July 27.