03:52 PM EDT, 04/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were higher late Friday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) rising 1.3% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) gaining 2.1%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index climbed 1.9%.

In corporate news, Palantir ( PLTR ) , Thales, and Air Space Intelligence were selected by the US Federal Aviation Administration to compete on a new AI tool for air traffic management, Bloomberg reported. Palantir ( PLTR ) shares rose 2.8%.

Apple ( AAPL ) recorded a 20% year-over-year increase in smartphone shipments in China during Q1 to become the second-largest seller in the country, Counterpoint Research said Friday. Apple ( AAPL ) shares climbed 2.7%.

Amazon ( AMZN )-backed (AMZN) Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei is set to meet on Friday with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles for talks that could set the stage for federal agencies to eventually start using Mythos, the company's new AI model, Bloomberg reported. Amazon ( AMZN ) shares were up 0.4%.

Bandwidth (BAND) shares jumped past 11% after B. Riley raised its price target to $27 from $20 while keeping its buy rating.