James Gruber

Yes, they're back.

During the pandemic, the meme stock craze sent the likes of GameStock and AMC Entertainment into the stratosphere, and last year, 8Co spiked on crypto-related moves.

Well, this week, a company called Allbirds pivoted from making wool sneakers to AI,

and that sent its shares up more than six times on Wednesday before crashing 28% overnight.

Meanwhile, a social media company, Myseum, with a market capitalization of just $6 million, announced a new focus on AI and a change of name to Myseum.ai.

Last night, its shares soared 255% on the news.

Wow.

You may shake your head at these share moves, but it shows investor psychology after what's effectively been an 18-year US bull market and the rise of social media and its influence on market behaviour.

Share markets rise on hopes for renewed US-Iran talks, oil plunges as supply concerns ease, and the latest on China, where the war has overshadowed fresh developments there.

Hello, good morning.

I'm James Gruber.

It's Wednesday, the 15th of April, and this is the morning edition of the ComSec Market Update.

Well, the on-again, off-again talks between the US and Iran are now apparently on again.

Reports suggest negotiations will resume in Pakistan this week.

That's all that was needed for share markets to continue their rise while oil prices tanked on the news.

Investors are also switching some of their attention to US corporate earnings.

And it seems that it's a case of so far, so good on that front.

Let's take a deeper look at what's happened with Aussie futures, commodities and currencies.

The ASX is poised to open higher with index futures up 0.5%.

Speaking of the ASX 200, yesterday it rose 0.5% to 8,970.8 points as risk sentiment improved on hopes of a resolution to the Middle East war.