Wednesday's Financial Winners & Losers

Commodities exchange IntercontinentalExchange (ICE Quote) said first-quarter profits soared 142.4% from last year to 80 cents a share, or $55.6 million -- crushing analysts' 71-cent per-share estimates. Average daily volume, moreover, nearly doubled year over year to 1.2 million contracts. Shares climbed 3.5% to $127.26.

Chicago Board of Trade (BOT Quote) meanwhile reported a 7% rise in April total volume to some 61 million contracts. In that same month, online broker TradeStation (TRAD Quote) reported daily average revenue trades gaining 5% on last year. CBOT shares were up 1.7% to $187.58; TradeStation was up 3% at $12.21.

Among the few financial losers Wednesday was American Capital Strategies (ACAS Quote), a Maryland-based asset manager that sank 5.5% to $45.61 after first-quarter operating income slid 4 cents from last year to 73 cents a share. Bermuda-based OneBeacon Insurance (OB Quote) said adjusted operating income totaled 38 cents a share, which just missed first-quarter Street expectations. Shares lost 49 cents, or 2%, to $23.80.

Suffering from negative analyst research was NYSE Euronext (NYX Quote), which slipped 0.8% to $82.69 after Banc of America slapped a sell rating on the newly merged exchange, citing concerns on the process of fully combining the two companies, among other things. And NewAlliance Bancshares (NAL Quote) fell 2% after Friedman Billings cut the Connecticut-based bank to market perform from outperform. Shares were down 31 cents to $15.18.