These boots are made for prompting

Hey Superheroes,

Wall Street just hit a new all-time high.

The S&P 500 rose 0.26% on Thursday to close at 7,041.28, eclipsing its previous record set back in January. The Nasdaq joined the party a day earlier, closing at a record 24,016 and notching an 11-session winning streak, its longest since November 2021.

The rally has been building for two weeks now, fuelled by growing optimism that the U.S.-Iran conflict could be nearing a resolution. Since bottoming in late March, the S&P 500 has surged more than 10%, completely erasing the war-driven correction.

Back home, the mood has been more cautious. The ASX 200 has hovered near the 9,000 level this week but struggled to break through. Consumer confidence dropped to its lowest since November 2023, and a major fire at Viva Energy’s Geelong refinery, one of only two oil refineries in Australia, has raised fresh concerns about domestic fuel supply at a time when energy markets are already strained.

Oil is still well above pre-war levels. The ceasefire is fragile. And investors are watching closely to see whether peace talks produce something concrete.

Here’s what else moved this week.

From Sneakers to Servers: Allbirds’ Bizarre Pivot to AI

If you wanted a single story to capture the mood of 2026, this might be it.

Allbirds, the once-beloved maker of wool sneakers that became a uniform for Silicon Valley, announced on Wednesday that it is leaving shoes behind entirely and pivoting to artificial intelligence.

The stock surged 582% in a single day.

👟 Wait, what?

Allbirds was once valued at US$4 billion. Barack Obama wore the shoes. Leonardo DiCaprio invested. The company built its entire brand around sustainability and eco-friendly materials.

But the story unravelled fast. Sales fell nearly 50% between 2022 and 2025. Every physical store in the U.S. was closed by January. Earlier this month, Allbirds agreed to sell its brand and footwear business for just US$39 million.

Now the company is rebranding as “NewBird AI” and plans to buy GPUs to offer AI compute-as-a-service.

🤖 The plan

NewBird AI has secured US$50 million in convertible financing from an unnamed investor. The goal is to acquire high-performance computing hardware and lease it out to companies that need AI capacity.

The company also confirmed it will drop its public benefit corporation status, meaning it will no longer be focused on environmental conservation.

From sustainable shoes to GPU leasing. That’s quite the pivot.

📉 Should investors take it seriously?

Here’s where it gets tricky.

Allbirds’ market cap was about US$21 million before the announcement. The stock jumped from under US$3 to around US$14.50 in a single session. That kind of move is almost entirely driven by hype.

The company has no demonstrated expertise in AI infrastructure. The financing is convertible debt, which could dilute existing shareholders significantly. And the shareholder vote to approve the pivot isn’t until May 18.

As one strategist put it, a company ditching its entire business model for one it has no experience in, and seeing a 6x move on the news, says a lot about market froth and investor willingness to chase momentum.

It’s also not the first time this has happened. Bitcoin miners have been pivoting to AI compute. Even a supersonic jet startup has started selling gas turbines to data centres. When the gold rush is on, everyone wants to sell shovels.

Tesla’s Chip Milestone Sparks 8% Rally

Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) had a strong session on Wednesday, jumping 8% and leading the Magnificent Seven after Elon Musk announced a major milestone in the company’s custom chip program.

🧠 What happened

Musk confirmed on X that Tesla’s chip design team completed the “tape out” of its AI5 chip, with AI6 and Dojo3 chips also in development.

A tape out is the final stage of chip design before manufacturing begins. It means the design is locked in and ready for production.

⚡ Why it matters

Tesla has been building its own silicon for years to power its self-driving and robotics ambitions. Custom chips give the company more control over performance, cost and supply.

The timing is notable. Tesla reports Q1 2026 earnings next Wednesday, and the stock has been under pressure this year. This chip news, combined with the broader tech rally, gave investors a reason to buy ahead of the results.

📊 The bigger picture

Tesla was the top performer among the Mag 7 on the day, with Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) the next best, up 3.7%. Both stocks have lagged the market in 2026, so any positive catalyst is drawing attention.

Investors will be looking to next week’s Q1 earnings for further updates on the production timeline.

🔦 Some other things we’re shining the Spotlight on:

VIVA REFINERY FIRE RAISES FUEL FEARS: A major fire broke out at Viva Energy’s Geelong oil refinery late Wednesday night, one of only two refineries operating in Australia. The blaze was extinguished around midday Thursday with no injuries reported. Energy Minister Chris Bowen confirmed petrol production will be disrupted. Viva says it will look to cover shortfalls through imported fuel, but the incident highlights just how vulnerable Australia’s fuel supply chain is, especially with oil prices still elevated from the Middle East conflict.

AMP POSTS STRONG Q1 AND LAUNCHES BUYBACK: AMP (ASX:AMP) posted Q1 2026 results showing 45% growth in Platforms net cashflows to $1.1 billion, while Superannuation & Investments outflows improved 26% year-on-year. The company also launched a $150 million on-market share buyback with management providing dividend guidance of 4 cents per share for FY26.”

STARBUCKS BREWS UP AN AI PLAY: Starbucks launched a beta app inside ChatGPT this week, letting U.S. customers discover drinks by describing their mood or uploading a photo. Orders can be customised and started inside ChatGPT, then completed through the Starbucks app. It joins Walmart, Etsy and Booking.com in testing commerce through OpenAI’s platform, another sign that AI is quietly reshaping how brands reach consumers.

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