Tech stocks were mixed in Wednesday afternoon trading with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) decreasing 0.2% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) adding 0.8%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index rose 0.4%.

In sector news, US authorities have been placing location tracking devices in select chip shipments to detect illegal diversion to China, Reuters reported. Trackers have been used in shipments from Dell (DELL) and Super Micro Computer (SMCI) that include chips from Nvidia (NVDA) and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), the report said.

Elon Musk must face claims by OpenAI that he engaged in a "years-long harassment campaign" against the startup, Bloomberg reported. US District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers rejected Musk's request to dismiss claims that he used legal actions, social media posts and press statements to harm OpenAI and benefit his own AI startup called xAI, the report said.

In corporate news, Sapiens International (SPNS) shares surged 45%. The company agreed to be acquired and taken private by private equity firm Advent for $2.5 billion in cash.

Oracle (ORCL) reduced staff in its cloud division to curb costs while investing heavily in AI infrastructure, Bloomberg reported. Oracle shares fell 3.6%.

Webtoon Entertainment (WBTN) shares soared 79%, a day after the company announced plans to offer more than 100 comics on its mobile vertical-scroll format under a multiyear collaboration with Walt Disney (DIS).

Intapp (INTA) shares jumped past 14%. The company reported better-than-expected fiscal Q4 results and said its board authorized a share buyback program of up to $150 million.