CBA’s APRA update, Mesoblast rockets, Oil Search sinks

At lunch on Friday the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) has fought back from a weak start and is pushing higher. The benchmark index is up 0.1% to 6,556.8 points.

Here’s what is happening on the market today:

CBA’s APRA update.

Commonwealth Bank of Australia (ASX: CBA) is the only big four bank pushing higher today. Australia’s largest bank was given a boost this morning when APRA gave it a thumbs up for its progress with the Prudential Inquiry Remedial Action Plan. As a result of this, the operational risk overlay imposed on the bank has now been reduced from $1 billion to $500 million with immediate effect. Commonwealth Bank notes that this reduction represents an increase in Common Equity Tier 1 capital of 17 basis…