01:58 PM EDT, 09/11/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were higher Wednesday afternoon, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) rising 2.0% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) gaining 2.5%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index climbed 2.9%.

In corporate news, Dell (DELL) said late Tuesday in a filing that it forecasts "a continued reduction" in its overall headcount this year as it grapples with a personal-computer refresh cycle that is yet to materialize. Its shares were rising 1.4%.

Amazon.com's ( AMZN ) Amazon Web Services plans to invest 8 billion British pounds ($10.47 billion) from 2024 through 2028 to build, operate and maintain data centers in the UK. Amazon ( AMZN ) shares added 0.9%.

Hewlett Packard Enterprises ( HPE ) is having talks with investors on Wednesday over a potential $9.5 billion debt deal to back its acquisition of Juniper Networks, Bloomberg reported. Its shares rose 1.2%.