03:21 PM EDT, 08/20/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks declined late Wednesday afternoon with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) falling 0.8% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) dropping 1.3%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index retreated 1.2%.

In sector news, US Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is exploring the possibility of the federal government taking equity stakes in semiconductor companies that receive CHIPS Act funding to build factories in the US, Reuters reported.

In corporate news, Apple's ( AAPL ) iPhone and other foreign-branded phones had June sales to China that dropped 31.3% from a year earlier, Reuters reported, citing calculations based on data from the China Academy of Information and Communications Technology. Apple ( AAPL ) shares fell 1.8%.