AI stocks slide globally ahead of Nvidia earnings

Artificial intelligence-related stocks came under broad pressure across global markets on Monday as investors positioned cautiously ahead of Nvidia's ↘ 2.91% quarterly earnings report, due Wednesday. The selloff followed a Bloomberg report that Nvidia had warned major customers of server price increases exceeding 15 percent, driven by surging memory chip costs.

Japan's Nikkei Swings on AI Weakness

Japan's Nikkei 225 oscillated between gains and losses on Monday, weighed down by AI-linked names that carry heavy index weightings. Fujikura fell 3.5 percent while SoftBank Group dropped 3.3 percent, according to Reuters. The broader Topix edged up 0.1 percent, and chip-equipment maker Tokyo Electron bucked the trend with a 2.1 percent gain.businesstimes+1

The weakness extended into U.S. overnight trading, where memory stocks led declines. Micron ↘ 5.83%, SanDisk Western Digital Corporation ↘ 5.24%, and SK Hynix ↘ 4.92% ADR all fell sharply on the Blue Ocean venue, with SK Hynix down 3.6 percent and SanDisk losing 3.5 percent by 23:00 EDT Sunday.ts2

Server Price Hikes Rattle Supply Chain

Bloomberg News reported Saturday that Nvidia had notified some of its largest customers that AI server prices would rise more than 15 percent for systems shipping early next year. The increases will affect configurations using Nvidia's flagship Vera Rubin and Grace Blackwell chips, with the magnitude depending on chip generation and memory configuration. Server contract manufacturers have already informed major data center operators including Microsoft ↗ 0.84%, Google parent Alphabet ↗ 0.83%, and Oracle ↘ 2.74% of the expected cost increases.ua+3

The price pressure stems from memory suppliers Samsung, SK Hynix, and Micron struggling to meet demand from AI data centers, pushing DRAM prices sharply higher.notebookcheck

A Compressed Week of Catalysts

Nvidia is scheduled to report fiscal second-quarter results on Wednesday, August 26, at approximately 4:20 p.m. EDT, with Wall Street expecting around $91 billion in revenue. The report arrives during a week that also brings GDP and PCE data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis and Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh's Jackson Hole keynote. The S&P 500 closed Friday's regular session at 7,674.37, up 0.43 percent on the day but down 1.4 percent for the week, while the Nasdaq Composite posted a steeper 2.1 percent weekly decline.x+2