Asian markets move higher

Singapore shares rose, led by gains in commodities firms Olam International and Noble Group, with regional markets higher after the International Monetary Fund sought more funds to help countries cope with the euro zone debt crisis. Shares of Singapore plastic parts maker Meiban Group Ltd surged as much as 30 percent on Thursday after the company said it may be the subject of a take-over bid by an unnamed party.
The MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan was 0.8 percent higher. Olam and Noble shares outperformed the local market, gaining 3.7 percent and 3.9 percent, respectively.
Asian shares rose to a two-month high, boosted by news the IMF is seeking to more than double its war chest by raising $600 billion in new resources to tackle the euro zone debt crisis. In Singapore, traders said expectations of increased mergers and acquisitions, especially among the smaller firms, helped the market. "The valuations are cheap, fundamentals are not bad if you take a longer-term view, and a lot of the stocks are thinly traded," said Terence Wong, co-head of research at DMG & Partners.
Meiban shares were up 26.8 percent at S$0.355 on volume of 16.3 million shares, 82 times the average daily volume traded over the last 30 days. WBL shares gained 2.8 percent at S$3.26. Among other gainers, shares of property developer Keppel Land rose as much as 3.2 percent on expectations the company will pay a special dividend when it reports full-year result on Thursday. Keppel Land shares were up 2.8 percent at S$2.58.
Singapore closed up 0.57 percent, or 15.80 points, at 2,811.20. Oil-rig maker Keppel Corp shed 1.05 percent to Sg$10.40 and Singapore Airlines gained 1.42 percent to Sg$10.73. Manila rose 0.49 percent, climbing 22.75 points to 4,700.37. Philippine Long Distance Telephone was up 0.8 percent at 2,850 pesos and Petron Corp added 1.6 percent to 11.50 pesos while SM Investments gained 1.3 percent to 624 pesos.
Wellington added 0.53 percent, or 17.24 points, to end at 3,264.74. Contact Energy gained 1.04 percent to NZ$4.87, Fletcher Building jumped 2.80 percent to NZ$6.25 and Telecom fell 0.73 percent to NZ$2.05. Kuala Lumpur closed flat, edging down to 1,516.81. Telecom company Axiata Group fell 0.62 percent to 4.84 ringgit, while Malayan Banking shed 0.97 percent to 8.20 ringgit. Mobile service provider DiGi.com gained 0.26 percent to 3.88 ringgit.
Jakarta was 0.58 percent, or 22.95 points, higher at 4,001.07. Among gainers, Indonesia's largest lender Bank Mandiri rose 2.2 percent to 7,100 rupiah, while auto maker Astra International gained 1.3 percent to 78,800 rupiah. - Bangkok rose 0.69 percent or 7.30 points to 1,058.94. Taipei was closed for a public holiday.