Stocks in Bangladesh yesterday rose for the second day in a row as the International Monetary Fund's recent decision to provide a $4.7 billion loan has allayed concerns about the country's potential economic condition in the coming days.

The DSEX, the benchmark index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange (DSE), rose by 17 points, or 0.27 per cent, to close the day at 6,294 points.

The DS30, an index comprised of blue-chip stocks, rose 0.30 per cent to 2,230 points at the same time while the DSES, which represents shariah-compliant companies, edged up 0.29 per cent to 1,373 points.

Of the securities traded, 79 advanced, 91 declined and 165 did not show any price movement.

Daily turnover, which indicates how much trading activity took place during the session, advanced 18 per cent to hit Tk 687 crore.

The International Monetary Fund signed off on a $4.7 billion support package for Bangladesh on January 31 to help the country cope with soaring energy and food costs.

Besides, investors placed fresh bets on sector-specific stocks that saw corrections based on their quarterly declarations, International Leasing Securities said in its market review.

In addition, Bangladesh Bank yesterday relaxed the provisioning rules against bank loans for brokerage houses, merchant banks and stock dealers, which increased the buying pressure from investors.

This is because the central bank's move grants these intermediaries greater access to finance, thereby increasing the amount of funds available for investment.

As such, the prime index of the Dhaka bourse started climbing early in the day and continued until the session ended, it added.

In 2012, the central bank had advised banks to maintain a 2 per cent general provision on the unclassified amount for loans to brokerage houses, merchant banks and stock dealers.

Among the sectors, travel rose 1.8 per cent, tannery advanced 1.4 per cent and general insurance increased 1.1 per cent while IT dropped 1.4 per cent, jute fell 0.5 per cent, and life insurance declined 0.2 per cent.

Investor activity was mainly focused on the IT sector, capturing 17.8 per cent of the day's total turnover, followed by pharmaceuticals with 13.7 per cent and miscellaneous with 8.8 per cent.

Orion Infusion topped the gainers' list with an increase of 8.7 per cent. Meanwhile, Beach Hatchery was up 7.9 per cent, Renwick Jajneswar advanced 7.1 per cent, BD Thai Food and Beverage rose 5.87 per cent and Emerald Oil gained 5.5 per cent.

Pragati Life Insurance shed the most, losing more than 5.3 per cent, while eGeneration Ltd, ADN Telecom, Aamra Networks, and Aamra Technologies suffered substantial losses as well.

Genex Infosys was the most traded stock with shares worth Tk 61 crore being transacted. Orion Pharma, Bangladesh Shipping Corporation, Shinepukur Ceramics and Olympic Industries also saw significant turnover.

Similarly, stocks listed with the Chittagong Stock Exchange rose too.

The Caspi, the all-share price index of the port city bourse, gained 43 points, or 0.23 per cent, to close at 18,583 points.

Of the issues traded, 43 rose, 48 retreated and 77 did not see any price movement.

On the other hand, turnover edged down 25 per cent to Tk 10.55 crore.