Google said on Wedneday that it plans to invest at least €13 billion in Finland over the next two years to expand its AI infrastructure.
- Nokia and Finnish telecom operator Elisa will supply connectivity infrastructure for Google’s three planned data center sites.
- Nokia is set to rejoin the Euro Stoxx 50 index on September 21, replacing Volkswagen after a one-year absence.
- NOK stock has gained over 60% this year amid its pivot towards infrastructure for AI data centers.
Nokia (NOK) shares gained in early morning trade on Wednesday, on track for a third straight session of gains, as the stock benefits from both Alphabet’s (GOOGL, GOOGL) Google announcing a $15 billion infrastructure investment in Finland and its upcoming return to the Euro Stoxx 50 index.
NOK stock rose as much as 2.3% in pre-market trade even as the broader market weakened, on track to outperform the S&P 500 for a third session. The S&P 500 fell in each of the past two sessions and was 0.3% in pre-market trade. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around NOK stock flipped to ‘bullish’ from ‘bearish’ territory over the past day and chatter rose to ‘high’ from ‘normal’ levels.
Meanwhile, GOOGL stock dropped 1.7% even as its own Finland announcement drove gains in Nokia, according to TheFly. It was among the top trending tickers on Stocktwits at the time of writing. Retail sentiment around GOOGL dropped to ‘extremely bearish’ from ‘bearish’ over the past day.
Google Expands AI Infrastructure In Finland
Google said Wednesday it will invest at least €13 billion ($15.1 billion) over the next two years to expand AI infrastructure in Finland, marking its largest single investment in Europe to date.
The investment will fund three new data center sites in Kajaani, Muhos and Vaala, along with an expansion of Google’s existing facility in Hamina. Google converted the Hamina site from a paper mill in 2009.
Google said the Hamina facility is part of its global network of 43 cloud regions. "This local region enables Finnish organizations like Nokia, Elisa, and the City of Hamina to deliver high-performance, low-latency services and to build and scale their own AI-powered solutions," the company said.
Nokia and Finnish telecom operator Elisa will supply connectivity infrastructure for the new data center sites.
Nokia Returns To Euro Stoxx 50
Last week, it was announced that Nokia is set to rejoin the Euro Stoxx 50 index on September 21, ending a one-year absence, according to index compiler Stoxx. Nokia will replace Volkswagen, which is being removed from the benchmark for the first time in the index’s 28-year history.
French utility Engie will also join the index, while Dutch information-services company Wolters Kluwer will be removed.
Nokia's return to the index comes amid its pivot toward fiber-optic and networking equipment used in AI data centers, a business line that has driven the stock up more than 60% so far this year.
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