Tech stocks rose late Monday afternoon, with the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) adding 1.2% and the SPDR S&P Semiconductor ETF (XSD) up 1.7%.

The Philadelphia Semiconductor index was 0.9% higher.

In sector news, President Donald Trump exempted smartphones, computers and semiconductors from his reciprocal tariffs, CNBC reported, citing Customs and Border Protection guidance issued late Friday. However, Trump said in a social media post Sunday that there are no tariff exceptions. Last week, Trump announced a 90-day pause for certain tariffs for non-retaliating countries, while hiking duties on China to 145%.

In corporate news, shares Apple (AAPL), which is heavily reliant on China for manufacturing, were rising 2.5%. The White House's signals of flexibility on tech and semiconductor components are a positive shift compared to the darker outlook over the previous 10 days, Wedbush said in a note emailed Monday. Separately, Apple assembled $22 billion worth of iPhones in India in the year through March, with production up roughly 60% year on year, Bloomberg reported.

Palantir Technologies' (PLTR) deal with NATO represents an additional boost for the company, with AI initiatives gaining momentum across both US and European governments, Wedbush Securities said in a note Monday. Palantir shares were rising 5.1%.

IBM (IBM) is poised for "solid" Q1 results on Red Hat growth, AI bookings and free cash flow contributions, RBC Capital Markets said Sunday in a report. IBM shares added 1.5%.

Nvidia (NVDA) said Monday it's working with its manufacturing partners to design and build factories that will produce AI supercomputers entirely in the US for the first time. Nvidia shares were down 0.2%.