TOKYO — Japan’s Nikkei share average closed higher on Tuesday, tracking Wall Street and led by gains in video game maker Nintendo, even as caution prevailed ahead of a key U.S. inflation report.

The Nikkei finished 0.25% higher at 28,614.63 after rising to 28,659.76, its highest since Aug. 26, earlier in the day. Of the index’s 225 components, 128 rose, 86 fell and 11 closed flat.

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The broader Topix rose 0.32% to 1,986.57.

The U.S. S&P 500 rallied more than 1% overnight leading up to Tuesday’s consumer price index report, which will be scrutinized for clues on how aggressive the Federal Reserve’s policy tightening campaign will be going forward.

Energy was the Nikkei’s best performing sector, gaining 0.85% as crude continued its rebound from multi-month lows amid supply concerns heading into the northern hemisphere winter.

Nintendo was the Nikkei’s top performer, climbing 5.51% after it reported record domestic launch sales for its shooter “Splatoon 3” on the Switch console, outpacing the debut of hit title “Animal Crossing: New Horizons.”

Travel-related shares gained after a report said on Monday that Japan was planning to waive tourist visa requirements from some countries as part of a further easing of border controls.

Travel agency H.I.S. added 3.88% and airline ANA Holdings rose 2.07%.

“A further easing of border controls will give scope for a re-evalution of Japanese shares,” said Hajime Sakai, chief fund manager at Mito Securities.

Despite an overall weak yen having several demerits for Japan, “if inbound tourism really comes back, the merits of the weak yen will be magnified,” he said.

The yen continued its rise from last week’s 24-year low close to 145 per dollar, last trading near 142.

Automakers took a hit from the strengthening yen, which cuts into revenue from overseas sales. Mazda was the Nikkei’s worst performer, down 3.8%. Subaru lost 2.73% and Mitsubishi Motors sank 1.91%.

Toyota fared relatively better, slipping just 0.14%.

(Reporting by Tokyo markets team; editing by Uttaresh.V and Subhranshu Sahu)

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