Tech stocks declined late Thursday afternoon with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) decreasing 1.7% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) fractionally lower.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index eased 0.2%.

In corporate news, Microsoft (MSFT) shares fell 4.8% after Stifel downgraded the stock to hold from buy and lowered the price target to $392 from $540.