TOKYO, Sept. 20 (Xinhua) -- Tokyo stocks closed higher Tuesday tracking overnight gains on Wall Street, especially the U.S. tech-heavy Nasdaq index.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average gained 120.77 points, or 0.44 percent, from Monday to close the day at 27,688.42.

The broader Topix index, meanwhile, edged up 8.71 points, or 0.45 percent, to finish at 1,947.27.

Dealers here said with expectations that the Fed will continue with aggressive interest rate hikes, the U.S. dollar found support by staying in the lower 143 zone.

"There is a possibility that the Fed may go for a 1 percent hike following the robust U.S. consumer price index released last week," said Makoto Sengoku, a market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Research Institute.

Japan's core consumer prices index excluding volatile fresh food items climbed 2.8 percent in August, the highest level since November 2014, official data showed Tuesday.

The Bank of Japan is scheduled to have a two-day monetary policy meeting later this week, although analysts expect the central bank to stick to its loose monetary policy which prioritizes economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, despite the wider interest rate gap between the United States and Japan weighing on the yen.

By the close of play, rubber products, food, as well as iron and steel comprised those that gained the most, with rising issues outpacing falling ones by 1,293 to 477 on the Prime Market.

Tech-related Nikkei heavyweights lifted the broader market, with semiconductor maker Screen Holdings gaining 2.2 percent and chipmaker Screen Holdings climbing 1.7 percent.

Bucking the upward trend, shares in sectors including ocean transport and real estate led the declines.

On the Prime Market on Tuesday, 1,034.41 million shares changed hands, shrinking from 1,417.56 million shares of the previous trading day.