Nokia Corp (Nokia (NOK)) shares jumped more than 6% on Thursday after the company announced a technology partnership with NestAI to build AI-enabled defense capabilities. The move helped the stock recover from a dip on Wednesday that was tied to broader market risk aversion.

The broader market was also in a good mood: the Nasdaq was up 1.38%, the S&P 500 gained 0.36%, and the technology sector led all sectors with a 2.45% rise.

Defense Partnership Responds to Market Demand

Nokia disclosed Thursday that its defense unit and NestAI are developing operational capabilities under a collaboration established alongside Nokia's and Tesi's €100 million ($114.40 million) joint investment in NestAI in November. The initiative integrates AI, deployable 5G, and sensing into a single defense capability.

"Defense is moving quickly to adopt AI-enabled capabilities, from mission planning to unmanned operations," said Mikko Hautala, Chief Geopolitical & Government Relations Officer and Chairman of Nokia Defense. "But AI only works in the field when it has secure, resilient connectivity behind it."

Operational Capabilities for Contested Environments

The collaboration delivers three integrated operational capabilities: AI-enabled command-and-control on deployable 5G networks, mission planning with assured connectivity, and earlier threat detection and response. These technologies are designed to meet NATO operational requirements.

"Most defense AI is built on assumptions about connectivity, sensor access, and infrastructure that do not hold in contested environments," noted Peter Sarlin, Founder and Executive Chairman of NestAI.

Long-Term Demand Indicators Remain Intact

Nokia recently announced that Orange Belgium selected the company as the sole supplier to modernize its transport infrastructure using Nokia's AI-powered WaveSuite automation platform. Additionally, Nokia is expanding its automation stack by running its Autonomous Networks Fabric on Amazon.com Inc's (Amazon (AMZN)) AWS.

Nokia Critical Levels to Watch

NOK is in a reset phase near-term: it's trading 5.5% below its 20-day SMA ($13.38) and 9% below its 50-day SMA ($13.90), which keeps the short-term trend pressured even on an up day. At the same time, it remains 12.3% above its 100-day SMA ($11.26) and 44.5% above its 200-day SMA ($8.75).

RSI at 45.13 is the cleaner momentum read right now.

The moving-average structure is mixed: the 20-day SMA is below the 50-day SMA (bearish for the short-term), but the 50-day SMA is still above the 200-day SMA, reflecting the golden cross that occurred in October. Zooming out, the stock's last major downside momentum event was the death cross in August, followed by a recovery that carried into the June 52-week high.

• Key Resistance: $13.05 — near the 50-day EMA, a level the stock needs to reclaim to improve the short-term trend
• Key Support: $11.26 — aligns with the 100-day SMA, a key trend support area if the pullback resumes

NOK Price Action: Nokia shares were up 6.32% at $12.70 at the time of publication on Thursday.