Wednesday's ETF Winners & Losers

Exchange-traded funds tracking crude oil were among the best performers of a winning session Wednesday.

The new front-month July contract was on the rise, despite the Energy Department's latest inventory report, which showed builds across the board. Refineries, however, are behind schedule in the conversion of crude to gasoline, helping push the July crude contract up 45 cents to $65.96 a barrel.

The Ultra Oil & Gas ProShares (DIG Quote) ETF was adding $2.36, or 2.5%, to $96.43. The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Oil Equipment Index (IEZ Quote) was rising $1.14, or 2.1%, to $56.38. The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services (XES Quote) ETF was recently up 62 cents, or 1.7%, to $36.29. The Oil Service HOLDRs (OIH Quote) ETF gained $3.46, or 1.8%, to $171.91.

ETFs tracking metals and mining were also among the day's winners. Gold was recently higher by $4.60 to $667.50 an ounce, and silver was tacking on 15 cents to $13.14 an ounce.

The SPDR S&P Metals & Mining (XME Quote) ETF was gaining $1.67, or 2.5%, to $66.33. The Market Vectors Gold Miners (GDX Quote) ETF was higher by 75 cents, or 1.9%, to $39.61. The Market Vectors Steel (SLX Quote) ETF was up $1.11, or 1.7%, to $65.53. The PowerShares DB Silver (DBS Quote) ETF was adding 31 cents, or 1.2%, to $25.80.

On the other hand, semiconductor-related ETFs were suffering at the hands of an analyst downgrade from J.P. Morgan.

The firm cut its rating for Analog Devices (ADI Quote) to neutral from overweight, after the chipmaker provided third-quarter guidance that fell short of expectations. The stock was recently falling $4.22, or 10%, to $36.20.

The SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD Quote) ETF eased 68 cents, or 1.3%, to $52.28. The Ultra Semiconductor ProShares (USD Quote) ETF was shedding 86 cents, or 1.1%, at $80.37. The Semiconductor HOLDRs (SMH Quote) ETF was recently down 31 cents, or 0.9%, to $36.98. The PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors (PSI Quote) ETF was lower by 15 cents, or 0.8%, at $19.05.

The Broadband HOLDRs (BDH Quote) ETF also slumped as holdings Motorola (MOT Quote) and Qualcomm (QCOM Quote) lost 1.2%. The ETF was down 5 cents, or 0.5%, to $16.70.