03:24 PM EDT, 03/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were lower late Thursday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) falling 2.8% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) dropping 3%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index slumped 4.3%.

In corporate news, Microsoft ( MSFT ) executives have informed managers of major divisions, including Azure cloud and North American sales groups, to freeze new hiring, The Information reported. Microsoft ( MSFT ) shares were down 1.5%.