03:22 PM EST, 02/05/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks gained late Wednesday afternoon, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) adding 1.3% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) climbing 2.1%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index rose 2.3%.

In corporate news, Microsoft ( MSFT )-backed (MSFT) OpenAI's Chief Executive Sam Altman intends to travel to the United Arab Emirates this week for talks with investment group MGX to raise funds, Reuters reported. Microsoft ( MSFT ) shares were rising 0.1%.