CBA halves home loan deferrals; Westpac says consumers look forward to "normal" Christmas

Cautious optimism in Australia's economic recovery is growing with Westpac's latest confidence survey saying upbeat consumers are looking forward to a "normal" Christmas. 

Commonwealth Bank says home loans on deferrals fell 51 percent in October to 46,000 down from 125,000 in June. 

ABC's Peter Ryan says the upbeat mood is also reflected on the sharemarket with hopes of a successful vaccine from Pfizer creating winners but also losers.