01:56 PM EST, 01/15/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were higher Wednesday afternoon, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) rising 2% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) climbing 3.1%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index added 2.3%.

In corporate news, Microsoft ( MSFT ) shares rose 2.5%. The company launched Microsoft ( MSFT ) 365 Copilot Chat that adds "pay-as-you-go agents" to the current free chat service for commercial clients of Microsoft ( MSFT ) 365.

Quantum computing stocks rose after a Microsoft ( MSFT ) blog post said 2025 is the year to get "quantum ready." Rigetti Computing ( RGTI ) shares jumped over 21%, D-Wave Quantum ( QBTS ) gained 19%, and IONQ ( IONQ ) surged 31%.

The US plans to unveil new regulations aimed at preventing advanced chips, particularly those made by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing ( TSM ) , from reaching China, Bloomberg reported. Taiwan Semiconductor shares were rising 1.9%.