Japan's Nikkei surges after Takaichi builds support for leadership bid

By Rocky Swift TOKYO, Oct 20 (Reuters) – Japan's Nikkei surged on Monday after political negotiations appeared to put fiscal expansionist Sanae Takaichi on a clearer path to becoming the country's next prime minister. The blue-chip Nikkei 225 Index jumped 1.7% to 48,369.45 in early trading. The broader Topix rose 1.4%. The Nikkei hit an all-time high earlier this month after Takaichi won a run-off to lead the ruling Liberal Democratic Party. But a Diet vote to install her as premier was delayed after she failed to heal a rift with a long-time coalition partner. After negotiations last week, the LDP and the Japan Innovation Party, known as Ishin, have broadly agreed to form a coalition, the Kyodo news agency reported on Sunday, with Ishin lawmakers pledging support for Takaichi as prime minister in parliament on Tuesday. "The rest of the opposition appears unlikely to unite around an alternative candidate, clearing Takaichi's path to the prime ministership," Taylor Nugent, senior economist at National Australia Bank, said in a note. The largest gainers in the Nikkei were Lasertec, up 3.4%, followed by IHI, which added 3.4%, and Tokyo Electron, which gained 3.4%. There were 175 advancers on the Nikkei index versus only one decliner. (Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)

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