A funny thing happened in domestic trading on the Bermuda Stock Exchange (BSX) yesterday -- nothing.

Neither a share nor a bond changed hands.

It was a gentle reminder perhaps, that for all of the substantial plans for the exchange's future, and for all of the giant strides it has made in recent years, it is, after all, still a very provincial enterprise -- a mere Lilliputian on a landscape of giant stock exchanges.

For what gnashing of teeth would be heard should the Hang Seng index suffer a day without a deal? How much time would the BBC devote to coverage of a day without any trading on the London Stock Exchange? Would there be Congressional hearings should the New York Stock Exchange survive a day when Wall Street stayed away? Here at home, perhaps still stunned by the PLP's Operation Clean Sweep at last week's election, investors even shunned the most actively traded bank stocks on the exchange.

It should come as no surprise, however, to the avid BSX index follower, who would be quick to point out that local stock traders last remained completely asleep all day just about three weeks ago.

So, on the day that the index remained at 1,289, with no share volume at all, BSX CEO William Woods reminded, "We've had zero trade days in the past.

They've been about twice-yearly events, I guess, since I've been here over the last three years. They've averaged about two, maybe three a year. It normally happens before a public holiday. We've never had two in a row.'' By that estimate, 1998 may have filled its quota of two.

Still, it was reminiscent of the not too distant past when weeks could go by without a trade on an exchange that amounted to a three horse hitching post -- and each mount had a bank for a name.

There are more players in the game now though, and it is worth marking such zero trading days, because there is a belief that an increasingly sophisticated populace will soon generate more investment capital toward more sophisticated domestic products -- that zero trading days could soon become a thing of the past.

Today, prices on the exchange remain soft. General volatility in world markets is one reason for the current trend.

Mr. Woods makes the point: "Prices have slipped off a bit and volumes in the four weeks or so leading up to the election were lower than average for this time of the year. There is some uncertainty with the state of the world markets.'' The index is almost 445 points below its May 22 high of 1,733.59, achieved during the market interest in the most weighted issue on the index, Bank of Bermuda, as it sought Parliamentary approval for an exemption to the 6 0/40 rule. The surging bank price, reaching a high of $40 at one point, drove the index, which slumped later when Parliament appeared indifferent to the bank's plan to list on the Nasdaq exchange. The bank's shares last traded on Friday at its lowest price in a year at $25. The zero trade day domestically didn't mean, however, the exchange was completely dormant. There were international crosses.

International volume yesterday was 1,115,000 shares, valued at $59,986,062.63, comprising 583 individual trades, plus one or two basket trades.

These are trades put together in the US, with buyers and sellers who are matched in the US, after the close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE).

The trades are sent to Bermuda to run them through the BSX trading engine to execute the trade here, which would be done in the morning before the NYSE can re-open. The BSX obtains 50 cents for each trade, but anticipates an increase in use of this facility, and the cumulative financial earnings.

William Woods