Investment bank Jefferies lowered its quarterly estimates for ICE and boosted forecasts for CME in its latest look at the exchange sector.

New York-based equity analyst Daniel Fannon said the first quarter of the year produced a “mixed bag” in terms of volumes, with M&A rumours remaining the primary topic among the US-listed bourses.

For Chicago-based derivatives house CME, FX had the greatest negative variance, followed by commodities and interest rates.  The bright spots were equities, metals and energy.

Last week, CME announced it will close its New York trading floor (legacy Nymex) by the end of the year, which Jefferies sees as another sign of the group’s commitment to continued cost reduction.

ICE, short for Intercontinental Exchange, saw weaker-than-expected volumes in energy, -8% lower than Jefferies’ forecast. This was offset by an increase in volumes for agriculture futures and cash equities.

“We should be getting an update on ICE's potential bid (or no bid) for the LSE within the next month” said Fannon in a note on Monday.

“We believe ICE is continuing to evaluate all of its options for a potential offer, i.e. leverage, cash, asset sales.”

Nasdaq US options volume came in lower than expected while US equity volumes improved.

Jefferies updated its model on Nasdaq to include the announced acquisitions of ISE, Chi-X Canada, Marketwired and Boardvantage - raising its 2017 earnings estimates in the process.

As for options exchange CBOE, higher-than-anticipated ADV for index options helped performance, Jefferies says, representing one of CBOE's highest fee products.

Offsetting this trend was weaker than anticipated volumes in VIX futures. Volumes for equities and ETFs also came in lower than anticipated

“With the increasingly popular trend towards index strategies and along with an uncertain macro backdrop, we expect continued strength in the company's higher fee products,” said Fannon.

Jefferies has the following rating and share price target on each of the four venues:

CBOE Hold $62

CME Buy $104

ICE Buy $295

NDAQ Hold $58