TOKYO — Japan's Nikkei 225 slipped in Thursday afternoon trade, trading around 66,060 after giving back an early advance that followed stronger-than-expected earnings from U.S. chipmaker Nvidia.

The index was last down about 0.3 percent, or roughly 202 points, from Wednesday's close of 66,262.16. Intraday prices swung from an opening gain above 66,700 to a session low near 65,780 before stabilizing in the mid-66,000 range. Broader Tokyo stocks were more mixed, with the Topix holding modest gains at times as investors rotated toward value names even as the Nikkei faded.

The session opened higher after Nvidia reported quarterly results that beat Wall Street estimates and pointed to continued demand for artificial intelligence chips. U.S. futures also firmed on the news. Japanese semiconductor-related shares, including memory and equipment names, rose at the open. That strength did not last. Chip-testing equipment maker Advantest later reversed and weighed on the benchmark, helping pull the Nikkei back below its early high.

SoftBank Group, a major investor in OpenAI and other technology businesses, traded narrowly. Some reports showed a small gain, while others had the stock slightly lower as the session progressed. The divergence between the Nikkei and the Topix reflected a familiar pattern this month: heavyweight growth and chip stocks driving the 225-share average, while a wider set of domestic and value........

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