{"id":71535,"date":"2026-09-08T09:38:16","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T13:38:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/qualcomm-and-amazon-ink-ai-infrastructure-deal-middle-east-tensions-flare\/71535\/"},"modified":"2026-09-08T09:38:16","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T13:38:16","slug":"qualcomm-and-amazon-ink-ai-infrastructure-deal-middle-east-tensions-flare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/qualcomm-and-amazon-ink-ai-infrastructure-deal-middle-east-tensions-flare\/71535\/","title":{"rendered":"Qualcomm and Amazon Ink AI Infrastructure Deal; Middle East Tensions Flare"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Qualcomm (<a href=\"\/stock\/QCOM\">QCOM<\/a>)<\/strong> surged <strong>9.5%<\/strong> after announcing a multi-generational pact with <strong>Amazon (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>)<\/strong> to build AI data center infrastructure, including a warrant for Amazon to purchase up to <strong>25 million shares<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Verizon (<a href=\"\/stock\/VZ\">VZ<\/a>)<\/strong> and <strong>Corning (<a href=\"\/stock\/GLW\">GLW<\/a>)<\/strong> signed a multi-billion dollar agreement for <strong>80 million miles<\/strong> of optical fiber to support nationwide broadband and AI backbone needs through 2032.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Novartis (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVS\">NVS<\/a>)<\/strong> shares tumbled over <strong>12%<\/strong> after its Phase 3 Lp(a)HORIZON study for the cardiovascular drug pelacarsen missed its primary endpoint.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Geopolitical tensions<\/strong> escalated as Iranian state media claimed the military downed a <strong>U.S. MQ-1 drone<\/strong> over the Strait of Hormuz; U.S. officials have yet to confirm the report.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The European Commission<\/strong> approved Ukraine&#39;s request to use <strong>\u20ac3.2 billion<\/strong> from an EU loan to purchase <strong>U.S. Patriot interceptor missiles<\/strong> ahead of the winter season.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Tech &amp; AI Infrastructure: Qualcomm and Amazon Lead Gains<\/h2>\n<p>Qualcomm (<a href=\"\/stock\/QCOM\">QCOM<\/a>) shares jumped nearly <strong>10%<\/strong> in early trading following the announcement of a landmark collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS). The partnership focuses on developing <strong>customized silicon<\/strong> and high-speed optical connectivity solutions tailored for massive <strong>AI inference workloads<\/strong>. As part of the agreement, Qualcomm will issue a warrant to Amazon (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMZN\">AMZN<\/a>) for up to <strong>25 million shares<\/strong>, with a strike price of <strong>$161.26<\/strong>, signaling a long-term strategic alignment between the two giants.<\/p>\n<p>Simultaneously, Verizon (<a href=\"\/stock\/VZ\">VZ<\/a>) and Corning (<a href=\"\/stock\/GLW\">GLW<\/a>) announced a massive supply deal to secure the &quot;physical foundation of the AI economy.&quot; Corning will provide over <strong>80 million miles<\/strong> of high-density optical fiber through 2032. This agreement is designed to accelerate Verizon&#39;s broadband expansion to <strong>40-50 million passings<\/strong> while building the long-haul connectivity required by AI hyperscalers.<\/p>\n<h2>Healthcare Setbacks: Novartis and Ionis Under Pressure<\/h2>\n<p>The pharmaceutical sector faced a sharp sell-off as Novartis (<a href=\"\/stock\/NVS\">NVS<\/a>) reported that its highly anticipated <strong>Phase 3 Lp(a)HORIZON study<\/strong> failed to meet its primary endpoint. The drug, pelacarsen, developed in partnership with Ionis Pharmaceuticals (<a href=\"\/stock\/IONS\">IONS<\/a>), successfully lowered lipoprotein(a) levels but did not translate that reduction into a significant decrease in major cardiovascular events. <strong>Novartis<\/strong> shares fell <strong>12.6%<\/strong>, while <strong>Ionis<\/strong> dropped <strong>10.9%<\/strong> on the news, which analysts suggest raises the &quot;burden of proof&quot; for similar therapies from competitors like Amgen (<a href=\"\/stock\/AMGN\">AMGN<\/a>).<\/p>\n<h2>Geopolitical Friction: Drone Claims and Defense Spending<\/h2>\n<p>Tensions in the Middle East spiked Tuesday after the IRGC-affiliated Fars News Agency reported that Iranian air defense units targeted and downed a <strong>U.S. drone<\/strong> near Bandar Abbas. While Iranian state media identified the craft as an <strong>MQ-1<\/strong>, U.S. Central Command has not confirmed any loss of aircraft. This development comes amid a broader regional &quot;exclusion zone&quot; threat from Tehran, which has already pushed <a href=\"https:\/\/stockmarketwatch.com\/energy\/crude-oil\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"12\" title=\"Crude oil\">oil prices<\/a> toward the <strong>$100 per barrel<\/strong> mark.<\/p>\n<p>In Europe, the European Commission cleared a <strong>\u20ac3.2 billion<\/strong> tranche for Ukraine to procure <strong>Patriot interceptor missiles<\/strong> from the United States. The funding, part of a larger <strong>\u20ac90 billion<\/strong> EU loan, is intended to shield Ukrainian infrastructure from ballistic missile attacks during the upcoming winter. This move underscores the continued reliance on U.S. defense manufacturing as European production lines remain at capacity.<\/p>\n<h2>Market Movers: Pre-Market Highlights<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Intel (<a href=\"\/stock\/INTC\">INTC<\/a>)<\/strong> gained <strong>5.0%<\/strong> following an upgrade to &quot;Outperform&quot; at Northland, as the market reacted positively to its ongoing turnaround efforts.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Tesla (<a href=\"\/stock\/TSLA\">TSLA<\/a>)<\/strong> edged up <strong>0.4%<\/strong> after its &quot;FSD Supervised&quot; software received regulatory approval for use in Slovenia.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Peloton (<a href=\"\/stock\/PTON\">PTON<\/a>)<\/strong> slid <strong>5.9%<\/strong> after Morgan Stanley downgraded the stock to &quot;Underweight,&quot; citing concerns over long-term growth sustainability.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Paramount Skydance (<a href=\"\/stock\/PSKY\">PSKY<\/a>)<\/strong> extended its debt tender and exchange offers to <strong>September 18<\/strong> as it continues to navigate the complexities of its <strong>$111 billion<\/strong> merger with Warner Bros. Discovery.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Takeaways Qualcomm (QCOM) surged 9.5% after announcing a multi-generational pact with Amazon (AMZN) to build AI data center infrastructure, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":50383,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"rank_math_schema_Article":[],"rank_math_focus_keyword":[],"rank_math_description":[],"financial_data_references":[],"stock_symbols_mentioned":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[5012],"tags":[4824,4,31,5775,391,20255,843,977,1466,1587,3831,4024,4544],"class_list":["post-71535","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","tag-geopolitics","tag-tsla","tag-intc","tag-pharmaceuticals","tag-amzn","tag-ions","tag-glw","tag-qcom","tag-nvs","tag-vz","tag-pton","tag-aws","tag-ai-infrastructure"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=71535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/71535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/50383"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=71535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=71535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www2.stockmarketwatch.com\/stock-market-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=71535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}