01:33 PM EDT, 03/26/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were lower Thursday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) falling 2.1% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) dropping 2.3%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index declined 3.6%.

In sector news, Carlyle (CG) and KKR (KKR) are in exclusive talks to build two data centers on US Army military bases at an estimated $2 billion each, the Financial Times reported Thursday. The Iran conflict epitomizes the growing need for data centers within the military as AI's role in warfare increases, US Army Secretary Daniel Driscoll said, according to the report.

In corporate news, GlobalFoundries ( GFS ) said Thursday it filed lawsuits against Tower Semiconductor ( TSEM ) , alleging the latter infringed 11 of its US patents. GlobalFoundries ( GFS ) shares fell 3.2%, and Tower Semiconductor ( TSEM ) dropped 5.6%.

Apple ( AAPL ) said Thursday it has added new partners to its American Manufacturing Program that seeks to bring more advanced manufacturing and critical component production to the US. Apple ( AAPL ) shares rose 0.9%.

Pony AI (PONY) shares fell past 15% after it posted lower Q4 revenue.