📈 Nebius Strikes $17.4B AI Infrastructure Gold

Good Morning…

While most investors were sleeping, a little-known AI infrastructure company just signed what might be the decade's most telling contract—a $17.4 billion deal with Microsoft that transforms Nebius from obscure spinoff to the kind of cash-generating machine that would make Warren Buffett smile in his sleep.

🔎 Market Trends → Nasdaq notches record high close; traders focus on rate cuts

🖥️ Market Movers from Fintech.tv → [WATCH] Navigating the Economic Landscape: Fed Rate Cuts and Market Reactions

And now…

⏱️ Your 5-minute briefing for Tuesday, September 9, 2025:

MARKET BRIEF
Before the Open 

Pre-Market

Fear & Greed

Markets in Review

Nasdaq notches a record as Wall St. eyes an inflation double-header

Nasdaq +0.45% to 21,798.70 (record). S&P 500 +0.21% to 6,495.15; Dow +0.25% to 45,514.95. Gains were led by mega-cap tech.

The Big Picture:

Stocks crept higher into a data-heavy week: PPI Wednesday, CPI Thursday. After a softer jobs print, traders see rising odds of a September rate cut—even whispers of 50 bps—keeping risk appetites intact.

AI spend remains the flywheel. Broadcom (AVGO) +3% and Nvidia (NVDA) +~1% firmed as investors leaned into the build-out of AI compute and networking. Amazon (AMZN) and Microsoft (MSFT) also advanced, extending leadership beyond the “Magnificent Seven” narrative.

Commodities stayed a quiet tailwind. Crude held in a broad range, limiting the “oil tax” on consumers and margins; gold was steady as a hedge into CPI. Translation: inflation optics look manageable unless energy re-accelerates.

Market Movers:

• AVGO, NVDA: Benefitting from secular AI capex and early read-throughs on custom silicon demand. Go deeper: Watch backlog quality and networking attach—where profit pools are widening.

• HOOD, APP: S&P 500 inclusions stoked index-buying flows. Go deeper: Inclusions can be one-off pops; sustained upside needs execution and earnings durability.

• Telcos (TMUS, T, VZ): Marked down after EchoStar–SpaceX spectrum news raised competitive anxiety. Go deeper: Cash-flow defense meets tech disruption—expect valuation gaps to persist until capex clarity improves.

What They’re Saying:

“There’s broad-based strength … momentum for AI spend and infrastructure buildout isn’t just concentrated in the mega caps.” — Ross Mayfield, Baird

WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
Events

• There are no events scheduled for today.

Earnings Reports

• Today: Oracle

• Tomorrow: Chewy, Manchester United

MARKET INSIGHTS
Leading News 

AI Infrastructure Gold Rush: Nebius Strikes Microsoft Deal Worth $17.4B

Why it matters:

Nebius (NBIS) just landed the kind of transformational deal that separates winners from wannabes in the AI infrastructure race—a $17.4 billion Microsoft contract through 2031 that validates the thesis that "picks and shovels" investments often outperform gold miners.

Zoom Out:

The market's 51% premarket surge tells only half the story. This Amsterdam-based firm, spun from Russian internet giant Yandex in 2023, now commands premium valuations by solving Microsoft's most pressing problem: securing dedicated GPU capacity in an increasingly supply-constrained market.

The five-year deal begins deployment phases in 2025-2026 at Nebius's new Vineland, New Jersey data center, with Microsoft holding options to expand the total contract value to $19.4 billion. Smart money recognizes this isn't just revenue—it's recurring, high-margin income with built-in escalation clauses.

The ripple effects are already visible: rival CoreWeave jumped 6.6% in sympathy, suggesting the entire AI infrastructure sector benefits from validation of the business model.

Key Insights:

• Revenue Visibility: The contract's structured delivery phases through 2031 provide unprecedented revenue predictability in a sector notorious for boom-bust cycles—exactly what institutional investors crave.

• Strategic Moat: Microsoft's option to terminate only applies if Nebius fails delivery after grace periods, but the tech giant's commitment suggests confidence in execution capability and strategic importance.

• Sector Tailwinds: Nvidia CFO Colette Kress projects $3-4 trillion in AI infrastructure spending by decade's end—making today's valuations look modest if the thesis proves correct.

Market Pulse:

"Nebius's core AI cloud business, serving customers from AI startups to enterprises, is performing exceptionally well," CEO Arkady Volozh noted, signaling diversified demand beyond the Microsoft mega-deal.

Bull’s Take:

Nebius just proved that in the AI gold rush, owning the infrastructure beats chasing the algorithms. Smart investors should view the 51% pop as validation, not destination—this deal transforms NBIS from speculative play to cash-generating machine with multi-decade runway.

Market Stories of Note

CoinShares Eyes US Public Markets Through SPAC Route:

CoinShares' decision to go public in the US through a SPAC merger represents another vote of confidence that institutional money managers can build sustainable businesses around digital assets—even after the spectacular crypto winter of 2022-2023. The timing suggests shrewd positioning ahead of potential regulatory clarity and Bitcoin ETF momentum, as European crypto asset managers increasingly view US markets as their ultimate destination for growth capital. Smart investors should watch whether this SPAC deal validates the thesis that crypto infrastructure companies, not just cryptocurrencies themselves, deserve a permanent place in diversified portfolios.

Chip Giant ASML Bets €1.3B on Europe's OpenAI Rival:

ASML's massive €1.3 billion investment in Mistral AI represents the kind of cross-sector validation that transforms speculative AI darlings into legitimate enterprise players worth $14 billion—more than doubling last year's valuation as Europe's answer to Silicon Valley's AI dominance takes shape. The Dutch chip equipment titan's 11% stake signals that smart money increasingly views European AI firms not as distant second-fiddles to OpenAI, but as geographically diversified plays that could benefit from protectionist trade winds and regulatory arbitrage. While Mistral still trades at a steep discount to OpenAI's stratospheric $500 billion valuation, patient investors should note that the most profitable investments often come from backing the underdog with the right partnerships before the market fully recognizes their strategic moats.

CRYPTO
Fear & Greed 

Headlines

• Bitcoin Inches up to $112K as Stocks Hit Record Highs (link)

• OpenSea unveils first NFT reserve by pledging $1 million to digital art, teases SEA token update (link)

• Grayscale Files for What Could Be First-Ever U.S. Chainlink ETF (link)