01:32 PM EDT, 09/18/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were sharply higher Thursday afternoon, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) rising 1.8% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) up 4.5%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index climbed 3.8%.

In corporate news, Intel ( INTC ) shares surged more than 24% after Nvidia ( NVDA ) agreed to invest $5 billion in the rival company and jointly develop new data center and personal computer chips. Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares rose 3.8%.

Palantir Technologies ( PLTR ) is pledging to invest 1.5 billion pounds ($2.05 billion) in the UK by 2030 while receiving a deal with the UK Defense Ministry to expand the use of its AI software, Bloomberg reported. Palantir ( PLTR ) shares gained 4.4%.

China's State Administration for Market Regulation has decided to drop its antitrust investigation into Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) unit Google ( GOOG ), the Financial Times reported. Alphabet shares added 0.5%.