LIVE MARKETS-Superposition showdown: who will crack the quantum code first?

US equity indexes gain in early trade; Nasdaq up 0.4% Comm svcs leads S&P 500 sector gains, energy weakest Euro STOXX 600 index up ~0.4% Dollar gains; gold up >1%; bitcoin down >1%; crude down >2.5% US 10-Year Treasury yield edges down to ~4.11% Welcome to the home for real-time coverage of markets brought to you by Reuters reporters. You can share your thoughts with us at SUPERPOSITION SHOWDOWN: WHO WILL CRACK THE QUANTUM CODE FIRST? Quantum computing is no longer science fiction - it’s the next battleground for tech giants and governments worldwide, with rapid advances in error correction, scalability, and integration that could deliver quantum superiority over classical systems within two years. “The race for quantum advantage and fault-tolerant quantum computing is accelerating. In the next 12-24 months, we expect to see a demonstration of quantum superiority over classical systems on useful problems,” Barclays analysts said. The brokerage identified 45 listed and more than 80 private companies at the forefront, including IBM (IBM.N) , Google (GOOGL.O) , Amazon (AMZN.O) , IonQ (IONQ.N) , Rigetti (RGTI.O) , Quantinuum (Honeywell) (HON.O) , QuantumCTek (688027.SS) , and Microsoft (MSFT.O) . Reliable quantum computing could solve problems “beyond the reach of classical systems, unlocking competitive advantage and economic impact across multiple sectors,” Barclays said. Early adopters in financial services and pharma, such as HSBC (HSBA.L) with IBM and AstraZeneca (AZN.L) with IonQ, are already seeing gains. Barclays estimates the quantum hardware market could reach $160 billion by 2040, with fault-tolerant quantum computing (FTQC) marking a major inflection point by 2029⁄2030. “Understanding the full supply chain early can help investors position for breakthroughs while hedging for technological risk,” analysts wrote. The report also highlights China’s government-led push, warning that “increasing competitive risk from China could intensify the quantum race.” (Akriti Shah) EARLIER ON LIVE MARKETS: ANIMAL SPIRITS SLUMP, US STOCKS STRUGGLE - CLICK HERE GENERATIVE AI COULD MAKE MARKETS MORE EFFICIENT - DB CLICK HERE FINANCIALS DRAG; FOOD, TOBACCO AND DRUGS GIVE SUPPORT CLICK HERE BEFORE THE BELL: TENTATIVE STABILISATION, AWAITING NVIDIA CLICK HERE HUSH FALLS OVER MARKETS AHEAD OF NVIDIA CLICK HERE RSPDRSPSRatio11192025 (Terence Gabriel is a Reuters market analyst. The views expressed are his own)