Egypt's major stocks saw a quick rebound on Monday as investors rallied around high-cap stocks amid rumours claiming the Commercial International Bank will raise its capital.

The benchmark EGX30 edged up 0.17 per cent to close the session at 4,955.6 points. The broader EGX70, however, slipped a further 0.81 per cent as trade clustered around a few major firms.

"Interest in heavyweight shares like CIB and Orascom Construction Industries (OCI) coloured the market with green," Issa Fathy, head of the securities division at Cairo's Chambers of Commerce told Ahram Online.

But the market's real direction could be seen in the cautious performance of individuals whose low-level trade caused the EGX70 to stumble, Fathy claimed.

"They are still feeling uncertainty about the market due to the near-daily dramas in the political scene," he said.

Reports of an imminent capital increase for CIB fuelled a healthy 2 per cent rise for its stocks, and saw total trade in the bank – one of Egypt's largest – soar to LE66.7 million, the day's highest for a single firm.

Egypt's largest listed firm OCI likewise rose 1.5 per cent, thanks to its cut-level share price.

"OCI's share price was what drove it up as it was attractive for foreigners who focus on these kinds of shares," Fathy said.

The banking sector finished the day in the green, buoyed by the rise of the high-profile National Societe Generale Bank (NSGB) which climbed 0.4 per cent.

Mobinil stocks edged up 0.3 per cent while Orascom Telecom dipped 1 per cent as investors continued to wait for an outcome regarding the sale of its Djezzy mobile phone unit to the Algerian government.

Major real estate players Palm Hills and the Talaat Mostafa Group saw their shares drop 2 and 1.5 per cent respectively, with Fathy attributing the falls to renewed caution over property in the wake of disputed land deals.

Another major real estate firm, SODIC, recently said it had received a letter from the government' s New Urban Communities Authority (NUCA) which cancelled its allocation of land to SODIC for its Eastown residential project.

Foreigners were net-buyers for the second day, snapping up LE19.4 million worth of stocks. Egyptians and other Arabs were net-sellers to the respective tunes of LE9.1 million and LE10.3 million .

"Foreigners are only looking to share prices so when these decline they become buyers regardless news or events," Fathy said.

From the day's 172 listed stocks, 39 gained value and 172 lost in trade that totalled LE348 million.