// COMPARE

Microsoft surged 3.47% to $426.99, the day's mega-cap leader on a multibillion-dollar Pentagon software deal report from Dell. Azure/AI demand stack stays in play.

MSFT is monetizing every AI angle — government, enterprise, OpenAI partnership. The Pentagon deal validates Azure's defense vertical, the highest-margin durable revenue stream available to a hyperscaler.

Whether the deal headline gets confirmed/expanded. $430 is the breakout level; clean print opens $440. Support $420. AI capex commentary from peers will matter into next earnings.

Silver surged 1.90% to $76.02, outpacing gold's bounce as industrial-metals demand and the geopolitical bid stacked. Opened lower on Iran drone news, then ripped on the strike headlines.

Silver is leveraged gold plus an AI capex play — solar and data-center wiring demand sit underneath the macro trade. When gold runs and risk is on simultaneously, silver outperforms both.

$77 is the technical breakout level — clean break opens $80. PCE Friday matters less than gold for silver; watch copper and AI capex headlines instead.