Commonwealth Bank Shares Jump as Profit Tops Estimates

Commonwealth Bank of Australia shares climbed the most in five years after its first-half profit topped expectations, buoyed by growth in its flagship mortgage business and a push in lending more to companies.

The shares rose 5.6% as of 10:16 a.m. in Sydney. Earlier, cash profit from continuing operations came in at A$5.45 billion ($3.9 billion) in the six months ended Dec. 31, topping the A$5.18 billion average estimate of analysts in a Bloomberg survey.