03:19 PM EDT, 08/12/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were higher late Wednesday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) rising 1.6% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) adding 2.9%

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index climbed 3.2%.

In corporate news, Apple ( AAPL ) has hired longtime American Airlines (AAL) executive Nate Gatten as its head of government affairs, effective Aug. 31, Bloomberg reported, citing a company memo it viewed. Kate Adams, who had served as senior vice president of government affairs, will remain in an advisory role until Oct. 1, the report said, citing the memo. Apple ( AAPL ) shares were down 1.2%.