IBM (NYSE:IBM) shares rose 3.3% Thursday morning following news that HSBC (NYSE:HSBC) successfully executed the world’s first quantum-enabled algorithmic trading trial using IBM’s quantum computing technology.
The collaboration showed a up to 34% improvement in predicting the success rate of customer inquiries in the European corporate bond market, compared with traditional classical computing methods. The trial applied IBM’s quantum computers to optimize requests for quote (RFQs) in over-the-counter bond trading.
HSBC tested production-scale trading data across multiple IBM quantum computers, with IBM Heron, the company’s most advanced processor, enhancing classical workflows to better analyze pricing signals from market data.
Philip Intallura, HSBC Group Head of Quantum Technologies, called the trial “a ground-breaking world-first in bond trading,” adding that it offers “a tangible example of how today’s quantum computers could solve a real-world business problem at scale and offer a competitive edge.”
The study explored the potential of quantum computing in over-the-counter bond markets, where trades occur directly between parties without a centralized exchange. Using quantum approaches, HSBC could detect hidden pricing patterns in noisy market data more effectively than with standard classical methods.
IBM’s quantum processors are accessible via the cloud and through Qiskit, an open-source quantum software platform. The success of this trial indicates that practical financial applications of quantum computing may be nearer to implementation than many had anticipated.
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