TOKYO, Sept 13 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average followed Wall Street higher on Tuesday, although the gains were capped by caution ahead of a key U.S. inflation report, with shares of Nintendo leading gains on the benchmark index.
The Nikkei added 0.16% to 28.589.11 as of the midday break. Earlier it touched 28,659.76 for the first time since Aug. 26, but couldn't hold that level as profit-taking buyers came in. Of the index's 225 components, 134 rose versus 83 that fell, with eight flat.
The broader Topix rose 0.24% to 1,984.97.
The U.S. S&P 500 rallied more than 1% overnight leading up to Tuesday's consumer price index (CPI) 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 0.81% as crude continued its rebound from multi-month lows amid supply concerns heading into the northern hemisphere winter.
Video game maker Nintendo was the Nikkei's top performer, climbing 4.51%, 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."
"Investors are buying the stock on the hope that this will be another 'Animal Crossing,'" said Masayuki Otani, chief market analyst at Securities Japan Inc.
Because it's available for download, there are no worries about the software selling out, and there are also expectations its popularity will boost Switch sales as well, Otani said.
Other notable advancers included tech investor SoftBank Group, which added 0.41%, and chipmaking equipment maker Tokyo Electron, which gained 0.37%.
Automakers, however, took a hit from a stronger yen, which cuts into revenue from overseas sales. Mitsubishi Motors was the Nikkei's worst performer, down 3.03%. Subaru lost 2.34% and Mazda sank 1.86%.
Toyota fared relatively better, slipping 0.34%. (Reporting by Tokyo markets team; editing by Uttaresh.V)
