03:52 PM EST, 03/07/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were sharply higher late Thursday afternoon, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) adding 1.5% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) spiking 3.4%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index jumped 3.2%.

In corporate news, Micron Technology ( MU ) shares gained 3.3% after Stifel upgraded the company's rating to buy from hold and increased its price target to $120 from $80.

Marvell Technology ( MRVL ) shares rose 4% after the firm said it's expanding its collaboration with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing (TSM) to develop the technology platform for the production of 2-nanometer semiconductors. Taiwan Semiconductor gained 6%.

STMicroelectronics (STM) added 3.6% after the firm said it's releasing new industrial microprocessors with 64-bit processing and edge artificial-intelligence acceleration.

Yext (YEXT) spiked 8% after reporting that earnings in fiscal Q4 doubled from a year earlier, exceeding market expectations.