04:00 PM EDT, 04/04/2024 (MT Newswires) -- Tech stocks were weaker late Thursday afternoon, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) declining 1.4% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) falling 1.8%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index lost 3%.

In corporate news, Microsoft ( MSFT ) -backed OpenAI is seeing rising demand for the corporate version of its ChatGPT product, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing OpenAI Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap. Microsoft ( MSFT ) shares eased 0.3%.

AXT (AXTI) shares tumbled 34% as short seller JCapital Research alleged that the company "may be on the brink of collapse" and "US investors know little of the peril." AXT did not immediately respond to MT Newswires' request for comment.

Alphabet (GOOG, GOOGL) has been speaking to its advisers about possibly making an offer for HubSpot ( HUBS ) , Reuters reported Thursday. HubSpot ( HUBS ) shares jumped 5%, while Alphabet was down 2.6%.

Zeta Global ( ZETA ) shares surged nearly 14% after Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to overweight from equal weight and raised the price target to $17 from $12.