02:18 PM EDT, 03/17/2026 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were mixed Tuesday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) rising 0.5% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) down 0.3%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index increased 0.2%.

In regulatory news, the Italian Competition Authority said Tuesday it has launched a probe into the quantum computing sector, citing potential competition concerns. The investigation aims to "provide a timely overview of potential risks and issues, given the significant investments and expectations surrounding the sector both at national level and across the European Union," the regulator said. Alphabet's (GOOGL) Google, Amazon (AMZN), and Meta (META) are among the major tech firms that are investing in quantum computing, according to a Reuters report.

In corporate news, Alphabet's Google said Tuesday it is expanding its "Personal Intelligence" capabilities in the US across AI Mode in Search, the Gemini app and Gemini in Chrome, aiming to deliver more personalized responses by connecting data from users' Google apps. Separately, Google is in talks with Envicool and other companies in China to buy liquid cooling equipment for data centers, Reuters reported. Alphabet shares rose 1.1%.

Nebius ( NBIS ) shares fell 11% after it said Tuesday it plans to offer $3.75 billion in convertible senior notes in a private placement to institutional buyers.

Microsoft ( MSFT )-backed (MSFT) OpenAI is finalizing strategies for a major shift to refocus on coding and business users, The Wall Street Journal reported late Monday, citing Fidji Simo, the startup's chief executive of applications. Microsoft ( MSFT ) shares decreased 0.2%.

Dell (DELL) reduced its workforce by roughly 10%, or about 11,000 employees, over the past year, according to its annual report. The company said late Monday it had about 97,000 employees as of Jan. 31, down from about 108,000 a year earlier. Dell shares were down 1.5%.