The S&P/ASX 200 index has started the week on a positive note. At lunch the benchmark index is up 0.1% to 6,715.4 points.
Here's what has been happening on the market today:
Private health insurance premiums increase.
The shares of Medibank Private Ltd (ASX: MPL) and NIB Holdings Limited (ASX: NHF) have been on the move on Monday after revealing their premium increases for 2020. The Federal Minister for Health has approved a 3.27% increase for Medibank and ahm premiums and a 2.9% increase for nib premiums. These are effective April 1 2020.
a2 Milk Company CEO departs.
The A2 Milk Company Ltd (ASX: A2M) share price is sinking lower on Monday after announcing the surprise exit of its CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka. The release reveals that increasing travel commitments was largely behind her departure. The a2 Milk Company board was quick to stress that it was pleased with the strategy that Hrdlicka put in place, despite a backlash from investors concerned by its narrowing margins.
McMillan Shakespeare sinks.
The McMillan Shakespeare Limited (ASX: MMS) share price has crashed lower on Monday after releasing a trading update. According to the update, the company is experiencing more challenging market conditions in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom than expected. In light of this, McMillan Shakespeare revealed that it expects its underlying net profit after tax for FY 2020 to be in the range of $83 million to $87 million. This compares to underlying net profit after tax of $88.7 million in FY 2019. This represents a year on year decline of 2% to 6.5%.
Best and worst performers.
The best performer on the ASX 200 index on Monday has been the Western Areas Ltd (ASX: WSA) share price with a 5% gain. This appears to have been driven by a 1.3% rise in the nickel price on Friday night. Going the other way, the McMillan Shakespeare share price is the worst performer by some distance with its 13.5% decline.
