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What's moving the CBA share price higher this week?

Australia's banks are expected to reap higher profits as the RBA increases the official cash rate.

Posted by
Bernd Struben
Bernd Struben earned his BA in economics from the University of Michigan in 1991, with post-graduate studies in environmental economics at the University of Connecticut. Over the years he’s written about and analysed the tourism industry in the Caribbean; Europe’s commercial real estate markets; and, since moving to Australia in 2010, global and Aussie share markets. Bernd studies geopolitical and macroeconomic trends, alongside sector and company specific data, to gauge what he believes could be tomorrow's best investments. In his free time, you might find Bernd at the beach with his family or working on his next science fiction novel.
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Key points
  • CBA share price in the green for the third positive trading day this week
  • The big bank could see a 15% boost in profits if the RBA moves on rates as expected
  • CommBank is investing heavily in digital innovation

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) share price is marching higher today.

Shares in Australia's biggest bank closed yesterday at $103.80. Heading into the lunch hour, shares are trading for $104.89, up 1.1%.

This comes as the wider S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) recovers from yesterday's big sell-off, with the benchmark index also up 1.1%.

If the CBA share price finishes the day in the green today, that will mark three days of gains this week alongside two days of losses.

Despite slipping in Wednesday's and Thursday's trading sessions, CommBank is up 2.7% since Friday's closing bell, handily outpacing the 1.0% gain posted by the ASX 200.

A man in a suit smiles at the yellow piggy bank he holds in his hand.

Image source: Getty Images

Interest rates and digital innovation

This week, investors were tuned in to two factors that could impact the CBA share price.

Specifically related to CommBank, the company updated the market on Tuesday regarding its ongoing digital innovation initiatives, intended to draw in more customers and retain the ones it has.

Commenting on the bank's technology focus, CEO Matt Comyn said:

Driving digital innovation for our customers is core to our strategy. This is all about reimagining what it means to be a bank, and the ways in which a bank can anticipate and meet customer needs.

We seek to be the trusted centre of our customers' financial lives, using technology to build the best integrated and personalised digital experiences to suit all the ways our customers interact with us.

Investors may have also tuned into CommBank on news that its share price could receive some healthy tailwinds from rising interest rates.

As the Motley Fool reported on Wednesday, Australia's banks could be looking at a 15% lift in profits if the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) boosts the cash rate to 1.0%.

That's according to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Matt Ingram and Jack Baxter.

According to the analysts:

Australian banks' profits may be up to 15% higher than consensus as soon as 1HFY23 with CBA and Westpac gaining the most if the December 2022 RBA cash rate hits 1% as forecast by Bloomberg Economics.

CBA share price snapshot

Over the past 12 months, the CBA share price is up 6.7%. That compares to a one-year gain of 1.6% posted by the ASX 200.

The Motley Fool Australia's parent company Motley Fool Holdings Inc. has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool Australia has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy. This article contains general investment advice only (under AFSL 400691). Authorised by Scott Phillips.

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