LONDON (CNNfn) - Asian markets ended mostly higher Monday, supported by a surge in U.S. tech stocks in the late session and relief for holders of many large-capitalization shares that they have a year to prepare for changes to a key series of worldwide stock indexes.
 In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index ended up 2.2 percent at 15,015.70. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng Index closed 1.4 percent higher at 15,408.54, a four-week high, while Singapore's Straits Times index rose 2.3 percent to 2,004.29.
In the currency market, the U.S. dollar weakened slightly to ¥110.70 against the Japanese yen, from ¥111.02 before the weekend in New York.
In the U.S. Friday, the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index surged 6 percent to 3,255.9 while the blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average ended up 0.9 percent at 10,712.91.
Tokyo tech stocks rally
Electronics titan Sony and computer and chip maker Fujitsu led Tokyo higher Monday. Sony jumped 5.2 percent and Fujitsu soared 7.7 percent while rival NEC was up 6.1 percent.
The market took in stride a decision by Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) to delay for a year changes to the way it allocates weightings to the stocks in its widely watched global indexes.
After the change, a company's weighting will be proportional to the percentage its of stock freely available for investors, excluding shares held by strategic investors such as governments, corporations, controlling shareholders and management. That could cut the weightings of many high-profile companies in Japan, where large numbers of shares are typically in the hands of founding families, the government or other companies.
Toyota Motor rose 2.9 percent. Toyota is among several firms whose shares are held in high proportion by other group companies.
Nippon Telegraph &Telephone, which is 46.7 percent government-owned, closed 2.3 percent higher, but its separately listed mobile-phone unit NTT DoCoMo ended down 3.1 percent.
Japan Telecom shares rose by their daily limit of 16.9 percent after London's Financial Times reported that the world's largest mobile-phone operator, the U.K.'s Vodafone Group, would agree to buy 15 percent of Japan Telecom for $2.5 billion. Vodafone declined to comment on the article.
Also, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun financial daily reported in its electronic edition that British Telecommunications was considering raising its stake in Japan Telecom by purchasing shares from AT&T (T: Research, Estimates).
Internet investor Hikari Tsushin slid 5.2 percent.
Hong Kong property, banking shares rise
Hong Kong's "old-economy" stocks strengthened after further signs of a cooling U.S. economy reinforced expectations of an interest-rate cut early next year.
 Property developer Sun Hung Kai Properties, which has a number of properties due for launch in the first half of 2001, ended up 3.9 percent.
But relief at the long lead-in to the index changes gave a boost to stocks expected to lose out under the coming system.
Telecom-to-property conglomerate Hutchison Whampoa rose 3.1 percent and Hang Seng Bank advanced 3.4 percent. The bank will see its weighting in MSCI indexes reduced because it is largely owned by HSBC Holdings and has a small free float of shares. HSBC added 0.9 percent.
Bank of East Asia rose 1.9 percent.
China Mobile, mainland China's biggest mobile-phone operator, climbed 1.9 percent. The company said the change in the index should have little impact on its share price as only 40 percent of its market capitalization was now counted in the calculation of its weighting in the MSCI China Free Index.
Banking shares in Singapore also got support from the MSCI index changes, with DBS Group up 2.5 percent, United Overseas Bank 0.8 percent higher, and OCBC Bank jumping 3.3 percent.
Chipmaker Chartered Semiconductor Manufacturing surged 6.3 percent while electronics contractor Omni Industries climbed 8.1 percent.
 In Seoul, the KOSPI ended up 3.7 percent at 554.80. Samsung Electronics rose 6.2 percent.
South Korea's top mobile-phone operator SK Telecom added 8.7 percent, while state-controlled Korea Telecom gained 4.7 percent. Investors expected the two firms to be awarded third-generation mobile-phone licenses when winners are named on Dec. 15.
In Taipei, the Taiwan Weighted index rose 0.6 percent to close at 5,284.41.
In Sydney, rising metals prices fueled a rally in natural-resources stocks, helping to push the S&P/ASX 200 index up 0.8 percent to 3,312.4.
Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto was the standout performer, rising 2.7 percent.
AMP, Australia's largest fund manager and life insurer, closed up 2.1 percent after it said net cash flow rose to A$6.5 billion ($3.5 billion) in the third quarter, up 40 percent from a year earlier.
Elsewhere, Jakarta's JSX composite index fell 2.4 percent, Kuala Lumpur's KLSE composite index added 0.4 percent and the PHS composite in Manila ended down 0.5 percent. Bangkok's financial markets were closed for a public holiday.
--from staff and wire reports 
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