NEW YORK (Dow Jones) -- Japanese shares gained ground Monday as clothing chain operator Fast Retailing and tire-maker Bridgestone scored large gains. Morning blackouts in Tokyo followed by a shutdown of the benchmark Nikkei stock index failed to dampen sentiment.

The Nikkei 225 Averagewas up 1.45% to 15,790.82 at 1:25 p.m. Tokyo time when a computer error caused by the blackout caused the index to stop updating.

By the time markets closed at 3 p.m., index calculations had not resumed. However, all component stocks continued trading as usual. According to independent calculations, the Nikkei would have finished the day up about 1.9%.

Light trading helped minimize the effect of the blackout and Nikkei breakdown, analysts said.

Hong Kong' s Hang Seng Indexwas up 0.18% to 17,280.72 in afternoon trading.

South Korea' s Kospi Index was up 0.23% as exporters including Hyundai Motor ( HYMZY) and LG Electronics (LGEPF) advanced. The country' s markets will be closed Tuesday for the Independence Day holiday.

Australia' s S & P/ASX 200 was up 0.45% despite a sharp drop by top telecom firm Telstra Corp. (TLS) .

Benchmarks in Taiwan, India and Malaysia were also higher.

Stocks on the move

Bridgestone Corp. (BRDCY), Japan' s largest tire-maker, was up 4.59% after Daiwa Institute of Research sai d it expects the company to post a strong profit next year despite weaker earnings recently due to high material costs.

Consumer loan firm Takefuji Corp. (TAKAF) was up 6.06% as Friday' s news that its controversial founder Yasuo Takei had died continued to boost the stock. It also gained more than 5% on Friday. Takei was convicted in 2004 of ordering illegal wiretaps on journalists who had written stories critical of the company. His death is believed to increase the chances of the company becoming a takeover target.

Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TKECF), also known as Tepco, was up 0.32% after it said power had been restored to most areas of the city affected by morning blackouts. Earlier, more than a million households and many businesses had been struck by power outages caused by a construction crane hitting a power line.

Tepco said after the blackout that it may sue construction firm Obayashi Corp., which it claims was responsible for the accident along with two other, unlisted builders. Obayashi shares ended flat

Fast Retailing Co. (FRCOF), which operates discount clothing chain Uniqlo, gained 4.67%. Friday' s GDP numbers showed strong domestic demand, analysts said.

Telecoms were also strong, with Nippon Telegraph and Telecom Corp. (NTT) rising 3.51% and rival KDDI Corp. (KDDIF) adding 1.97%. Softbank Corp. (SFTBF) , which operates Japan' s third-largest mobile service provider and also owns Yahoo Japa , advanced 2.94%.

In Hong Kong, Lenovo Group (LNVGY) was down 1.11% on news that it would be removed from the Hang Seng Index in a quarterly reshuffling.

Hong Kong E xchanges and Clearing Ltd. (HKXCF) gained as much as 1.73% on news it would become a Hang Seng Index component next month. China Construction Bank, which will also be added to the index, was down as much as 1.14%.

In Seoul, LG Electronics was up as much as 0.95% and Hyundai Motor gained 0.66%.

In Sydney, Telstra was down 2.4% after it said the government had reduced the amount it charges one of the company' s rivals for access to certain networks. (END) Dow Jones Newswires 08-14-06 0400ET Copyright (c) 2006 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.