TOKYO, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei share average rose more than 1% to a two-week high on Wednesday, with shares in robotics companies leading the charge, even as crucial U.S. inflation data loomed later in the week.

The Nikkei gained 1.08% to 26,457.56 as of the midday break, and earlier touched 26,479.99 for the first time since Dec. 27.

A rally on Wall Street overnight buoyed the mood in Japanese markets, but the advance was compounded by the previous day's earnings announcement from robot maker Yasukawa Electric , which noted improving supply chain conditions.

Yaskawa rose 6.02% to lead gainers on the Nikkei. Peer Fanuc jumped 4.65%, while medical machinery maker Hoya was 5.29% higher.

Other high tech names also stood out, with Sony Group up 2.98% and chip-making equipment maker Tokyo Electron adding 1.13%.

Precision machinery was the best performer among the Tokyo Stock Exchange's 33 sectors, advancing 2.98%.

The Nikkei's biggest support in terms of index points though was Uniqlo store operator Fast Retailing, which rose 1.39% after announcing overnight that it would raise salaries as much as 40%.

The Topix gained 1.04% to 1,900.36, and also touched a two-week peak at 26,479.99.

Overnight, the tech-heavy Nasdaq led gains for all of the three main U.S. stock indexes, with investors taking cheer after Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell refrained from talking about interest rate policy in his first public appearance of 2023.

Recent comments by other Fed officials have supported the view that the central bank needs to remain aggressive in raising interest rates to control inflation.

Investors globally are anxiously awaiting the U.S. consumer prices index report Thursday, which is expected to show some moderation in year-on-year prices in December.

"Although it's not until tomorrow, so there's still a lot of time; this CPI number is very hard to predict," Kazuo Kamitani, a strategist at Nomura, said in a conference call with journalists.

"I'd like for stocks to be able to keep the current level into the release of the data." (Editing by Uttaresh.V)