Daily market update: Warner Bros, Standard Chartered, Croda

While investors looked a bit dazed from a wobbly start to the trading week, market movements on Tuesday would suggest they’re regaining their balance rather than falling over.

European indices were down a touch amid weakness in financials and pharma, yet the FTSE 100 was propped up by strength in oil and consumer goods sectors. Futures prices imply small gains on Wall Street when trading opens later today, which is important as that could help repair investor sentiment.

Investors have plenty to worry about, and Nvidia’s results on Wednesday have the potential to make or break the market depending on what it says about AI. The market has this year shown widespread concerns about all things linked to AI, from excessive spending to business models being disrupted, so Nvidia needs to retain its uber-bullish stance if it wants to avoid stirring the pot of worry for investors.

Convatec soared by 9% after upgrading its medium-term revenue growth target. Unite crashed 8% after disappointing the market with lacklustre full-year results and gloomy guidance.

Warner Bros / Paramount / Netflix

Reports suggest Paramount has raised its bid for Warner Bros Discovery. This shouldn’t come as a surprise given the clock was ticking for the suitor to make its best and final offer to knock Netflix out of the game.

It will have to be a particularly generous bid if Paramount stands any chance of dethroning Netflix, to whom Warner Bros has shown preference as bidder.

This might not be a case of most amount of money wins. Warner Bros’ board must think about the right owner for the business longer term and there is a good argument to suggest Netflix is a better fit than Paramount, given its scale and reach.

The ‘put up or shut up’ demand from Warner Bros on Paramount last week was the target’s way of bringing the takeover dance to an end. The constant back and forth is distracting for management and shareholders who simply want to know where the future lies, not the umpteenth part of a drama that never seems to end.

Standard Chartered

While the promise of increased capital returns offered a sop to investors in Standard Chartered it wasn’t enough to make up for the bank’s miss on profit.

An increase in costs last year and a significant drop in net interest income in the fourth quarter of 2025 are the opposite of what any bank would want to see, even if the picture for 2026 looks more positive based on the outlook.  

This misstep is ill-timed, coming as it does just weeks after the blow dealt by the departure of chief financial officer Diego De Giorgi. As well as removing a key driver behind Standard Chartered’s ‘Fit for Growth’ programme, his departure has raised questions over the succession strategy at the company – where Bill Winters has been CEO for more than a decade.

Shareholders looking for stability will hope reports suggesting Winters will outline a new strategy in May and stick around until it has been implemented are on the money.

While it operates in different markets from UK-focused peers, something it shares with the likes of Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds is a push into the wealth management space. This strategy is paying off with tangible increases in its affluent client base and, in turn, the income from this part of the business.

Croda

Chemicals companies are often seen as being closely tied to movements in the economy so there will be considerable relief on the part of investors that, despite an uncertain backdrop, Croda is shaping up nicely.

Full-year profit was at the top end of guidance and ahead of analysts’ forecasts and Croda has outlined plans to further improve returns and profitability.

The company provides ingredients for the beauty, agriculture and pharmaceutical industries – all industries which have faced tariff disruption over the last 12 months.

There is a big divergence between adjusted and statutory profit, but the market is forgiving given the company is in the early stages of its turnaround plan. Croda seems to be making progress with an overhaul of its facilities and a tightening up of procurement processes to reduce costs.

This has resulted in impairment charges – largely relating to putting the Lamar facility in the US on standby as projects requiring production at scale have not materialised as quickly as anticipated.