Tech stocks were lower late Thursday afternoon, with the State Street Technology Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLK) falling 2.8% and the State Street SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) dropping 3%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index slumped 4.3%.

In corporate news, Microsoft (MSFT) executives have informed managers of major divisions, including Azure cloud and North American sales groups, to freeze new hiring, The Information reported. Microsoft shares were down 1.5%.