Sydney, January 15, 2026, 16:49 AEDT — After-hours.
- Commonwealth Bank of Australia shares ended up 0.35% at A$153.42.
- The bank lifted fixed mortgage rates from Thursday, a move that can feed straight into margin expectations.
- Next up: Australia’s CPI on Jan. 28, the RBA decision on Feb. 3, and CBA’s half-year results on Feb. 11.
Commonwealth Bank of Australia shares edged higher on Thursday after the lender moved to lift fixed mortgage rates and as investors looked to a run of rate-sensitive data in the next fortnight. The stock finished up 0.35% at A$153.42. (Intelligent Investor)
The move matters now because bank stocks tend to swing on any shift in the interest-rate outlook. Mortgage pricing is the front line: it influences loan demand and the margin banks earn — the spread between what they make on loans and what they pay to fund them.
Commonwealth Bank has increased fixed rates, with its three-year fixed mortgage rate rising to 6.04% from 5.34%, starting Jan. 15, Broker News reported, citing the bank. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point. (Australian Broker News)
Other big banks ended mixed-to-firmer. ANZ Group shares were up about 2.3%, National Australia Bank gained about 1.1% and Westpac rose about 0.7% in late trade data.
The broader market kept grinding higher. The S&P/ASX 200 rose 0.47% to 8,861.7, helped by miners and commodity-linked stocks, according to an AAP report carried by CommBank’s newsroom. (CommBank)
Commonwealth Bank economist Belinda Allen flagged the policy risk in a note on wages and labour costs this week, saying, “It seems increasingly likely that the Reserve Bank could raise rates in the early part of 2026.” (The Motley Fool)
The key near-term hurdle is inflation. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has scheduled the December 2025 consumer price index release for Jan. 28 at 11:30 a.m. AEDT, while the Reserve Bank of Australia’s next monetary policy meeting runs Feb. 2–3, with the decision statement due on Feb. 3. (Australian Bureau of Statistics)
Overnight leads are also in play. Wall Street slipped as investors weighed mixed results from major U.S. banks and fresh policy risks around lending, a backdrop that can bleed into sentiment toward bank shares globally. (Reuters)
But the near-term read is not clean. Higher mortgage rates can help defend pricing, yet they can also slow credit growth and raise borrower stress if the economy softens — and a softer CPI print could just as easily reset rate expectations lower, reviving pressure on margins through competition.
Investors also have a company-specific date circled. Commonwealth Bank is due to report half-year results and announce its interim dividend on Feb. 11, a checkpoint for margins, loan growth and bad-debt trends into the rest of 2026. (CommBank)
