Nvidia, Snowflake, Nebius and CoreWeave Surges as AI Deal Sparks Rally

Sep 9 - Artificial intelligence (AI) stocks stayed in the spotlight Tuesday as Nebius Group NBIS unveiled a multibillion-dollar contract with Microsoft MSFT while investors looked ahead to Oracle's ORCL quarterly results.

Nebius said it struck a $17.4 billion deal to supply AI infrastructure to Microsoft over the next five years. The agreement could grow to $19.4 billion if Microsoft opts for additional capacity. Nebius will provide the service from its new Vineland, N.J. data center later this year. Shares of Nebius surged in premarket trading, while Microsoft gained modestly.

CoreWeave (CRWV), a direct competitor, rose after announcing the launch of CoreWeave Ventures, a new investment arm focused on AI startups.

Nvidia NVDA moved slightly higher after its CFO said the company secured licenses to ship its H20 chips to several customers in China, though geopolitical issues remain a hurdle.

Snowflake (SNOW) also ticked up following rival Databricks' latest $100 billion private valuation and news that its AI products now exceed a $1 billion revenue run-rate.

Meanwhile, Oracle advanced ahead of its earnings release, with Wall Street raising price targets in anticipation of stronger growth.