The securities exchange closed at 4034.07 last week on Friday, an increase from Thursday’s performance on both indices. Today we shall be focusing on 3 listed companies that won different awards in the recent Think Business Capital Markets Awards 2012 ceremony. They are; Britam, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and NIC Bank.

A summary of last Friday’s trading activities can be found here.

COUNTERS

• KCB - It closed at KES 28.75, an improvement from the previous day's close at KES 28.50. The bank bagged 3 awards as; Best performing NSE 20 share index company of the year, second position lead custodian and best quoted company of the year. The share has maintained an upward trend through the year having started at KES 17 at the beginning of the 2012. We shall be watching it not only today but through the week to check if this positive news will cause any material movement in the securities market.
• Britam - The stock closed at KES 6.30 last Friday, a drop from Thursday's closing price of KES 6.45. The re-branded investments company took home 3 top prizes from the awards ceremony; Fund manager of the year, Unit Trust of the year and IPO of the year. The company's unit trust currently has its hands on 33% of the Kenyan market. We shall be monitoring the stocks movement today to see if the news will be enough to bring the stock's price back up.
• NIC Bank - The counter closed at KES 34.50 down from KES 35.25 on Thursday. Just over 43,000 shares were traded for the day with the prices ranging KES 34 to KES 35.75. The investment company scooped two awards; Best lead transaction adviser and first runners-up investment bank of the year. We shall be monitoring the stocks bid-ask spread during the day.