03:34 PM EDT, 07/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were sharply lower late Wednesday afternoon, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) dropping 4.1% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) falling 3.9%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index slumped 4.8%.

In corporate news, Microsoft ( MSFT ) is unlikely to limit CrowdStrike's ( CRWD ) access to its Windows operating system after the cybersecurity firm's software update caused computers to crash, Reuters reported Wednesday. Microsoft ( MSFT ) shares were falling 3.6% and CrowdStrike ( CRWD ) was down 3.7%.