Spot platinum just broke through the $1,620.00/oz level, now quoted at $1,619.32/oz, down 3.49% on the day; Nymex platinum futures main contract is now quoted at $1,632.7/oz, down 0.55% on the day.

After attending the Quantum World Congress, Jefferies issued a major evaluation: the industry's core challenge has shifted from "creating good qubits" to "building truly usable computers." The source of competitive advantage has fully moved from physics innovation to system engineering and manufacturing barriers. The U.S. government has elevated its role from a funding provider to a rule-maker, with federal funding now linked to performance and the NQI Act about to be implemented. Whoever first achieves repeatable manufacturing and supply chain resilience will earn the ticket to compete in commercializing this technology.

Morgan Stanley has lowered its target price for Applied Materials, one of the world's largest semiconductor equipment manufacturers, from the previous $642 to $563.