Australian shares hit a record high on Thursday, as financials extended gains fuelled by better-than-expected first-quarter economic growth and elevated oil prices boosted energy stocks.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) yesterday reported a 10.8 percent drop in cash profits, blaming the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic and record low interest rates.
The country’s largest lender said that its statutory net profit fell 20.8 percent to A$4.87 billion (US$3.76 billion), largely due to the one-off gain of a sale in 2019.
Cash profits the bank’s preferred measure slid 10.8 percent to A$3.88 billion due in part to the impact of COVID-19, including the cost of bad loans and provisions for future defaults.
The Australian central bank has also slashed the cash rate to 0.10 percent and