There was a strong volume of share trading on the Royal Gazette/Bermuda Stock Exchange Index with stocks valued at $1.7 million changing hands, but the Index moved upwards only 1.99 points (0.04 percent) to settle at 4,980.06.

The biggest gainer of the day was insurance company BF&M, which saw its shares hit a new 12-month high of $19.25 after improving $1 (5.5 percent) as a result of 7,200 shares traded.

Rival insurance group Argus lost 75 cents (five percent) on its shares to close at $14.25 after 35,900 were exchanged.

In the utilities sector Belco improved 80 cents (3.5 percent) to $23.80 after 100 shares traded.

Butterfield Bank had 17,363 shares exchanged but without any effect on its closing price of $59.25. There was also no change to the closing price of Bermuda Commercial Bank as 200 of its shares were traded at $9.

The only other locally traded company to have shares traded was Kentucky Fried Chicken with 12,000 of its stocks trading, but not affecting its closing price of $6.

The total volume of local shares traded was 72,763, representing a value of $1,741,004.