Nikkei wavers as AI shares fall and BOJ rate bets lift yields

Japan's Nikkei swung between gains and losses Monday as AI-linked stocks fell ahead of Nvidia earnings and rising bond yields added pressure. The index was up 0.2% at 65,900.95 in morning trading after earlier moving between a 0.4% gain and a 0.5% loss, while the broader Topix edged up 0.1%. Fujikura dropped 3.5% and SoftBank Group lost 3.3%, though chip-equipment maker Tokyo Electron rose 2.1%. Investors are weighing worries about inflation, uncertainty in the Middle East and expectations that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates at its September policy meeting. Reuters cited a Bloomberg report that Nvidia told some major customers AI server prices will rise by more than 15% because of higher memory costs.