The Royal Gazette/Bermuda Stock Exchange Index reached another all-time high yesterday, gaining 41.47 points to close at 3,965.83.

Index bellwether Butterfield Bank rose 20 cents to close at $46.75 ? a new record ? as investors traded in 14,600 shares.

Argus gained $1 to close at $13 on volume of 500 shares and Bermuda Aviation Services traded in 40 shares to remain unchanged at $7.

The total value of the shares bought and sold on the BSX yesterday was $686,430 and the overall volume of shares was 15,140.

Publicly traded Bermuda-based insurers and reinsurers were mixed yesterday.

Endurance Specialty led gainers with a 2.07 percent rise to $35.06 while ACE, which released earnings guidance for 2006 on Thursday, was up 1.76 percent to $54.80.

Arch Capital and RenaissanceRe both gained 1.27 percent to close at $54.23 and $43.14 respectively.

Everest Re slumped 1.69 percent to close at $99.49 and Axis Specialty fell 1.35 percent to close at $29.85.

IPC Re, whose chairman Joseph Johnson announced his retirement on Thursday, was down 0.74 percent to $27.99.