01:07 PM EDT, 10/17/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were lower Friday afternoon, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) down 0.3% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) falling 1.7%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index was shedding 0.9%.

In corporate news, Meta Platforms ( META ) said Friday that it is providing "simple, new ways" for parents to control how much interaction their children have with AI characters. Meta shares were fractionally down.