Japan’s Nikkei tracks Wall St higher before U.S. CPI; Nintendo jumps

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, Reuters reported.
The Nikkei .N225 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.
The broader Topix .TOPX rose 0.32% to 1,986.57.
The U.S. S&P 500 .SPX rallied more than 1% overnight leading up to Tuesday’s consumer price index report, which will be scrutinised 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. O/R
Nintendo 7974.T 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. 9603.T added 3.88% and airline ANA Holdings 9202.T 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 JPY=EBS continued its rise from last week’s 24-year low close to 145 per dollar, last trading near 142.