01:41 PM EST, 11/19/2025 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were higher Wednesday afternoon, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) up 0.5% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) adding 0.8%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index increased 0.9%.

In sector news, Tesla (TSLA) Chief Executive Elon Musk-owned xAI is in advanced talks to raise $15 billion in fresh equity at a valuation of $230 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported.

In corporate news, Nvidia ( NVDA ) is expected to "handily" exceed Wall Street estimates during Q3 earnings, given the positive data points noted from Asian supply checks along with recent Big Tech capital expenditure numbers seen by hyper-scalers, Wedbush said in a Wednesday note. Nvidia ( NVDA ) shares gained 1.7%.

Adobe (ADBE) agreed to buy digital marketing platform Semrush ( SEMR ) in an all-cash deal worth about $1.9 billion, as the software maker looks to strengthen its brand visibility services amid a rise in consumer interactions with AI systems. Semrush ( SEMR ) shares surged 74%, and Adobe was down 1.5%.

AMD (AMD) and Cisco ( CSCO ) have agreed to form a joint venture with Saudi Arabian AI start-up Humain to build data centers in the Middle East, Reuters reported, citing the chief executives of the three companies. AMD shares were down 4.1%, and Cisco ( CSCO ) rose 1.3%.