Japanese banks well placed to join Nikkei's Takaichi euphoria, say analysts

By Anton Bridge TOKYO (Reuters) -The "Takaichi trade" that propelled Japanese stocks to record highs this week passed by the banking sector, which heavily underperformed the market as investors, bracing for Sanae Takaichi as the nation's new leader, repriced their exposure. But not for long, some analysts say, as the economic landscape under a Takaichi government is likely to buoy finance. Markets have homed in on Takaichi's support for fiscal stimulus and looser monetary policy – a powerful prop for stocks though it may also delay the Bank of Japan's planned interest rate hikes, curtailing a future source of bank profits. Those initial investor calculations saw the Topix banking index fall 0.12% on Monday even as the Nikkei share average soared 4.75%. To be sure, the pullback in banking s