Wednesday's ETF Winners & Losers

Bundled securities tracking semiconductors were among the top performers Wednesday, as several chipmaker stocks supported a 0.4% advance in the Nasdaq Composite.

Among individual names, Applied Materials (AMAT Quote), Maxim Integrated Products (MXIM Quote), National Semiconductor (NSM Quote), and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD Quote) were higher by 2.1% or more.

The Ultra Semiconductor ProShares(USD Quote) was adding $2.97, or 3.6%, to $85.02. The PowerShares Dynamic Semiconductors (PSI Quote) was rising 34 cents, or 1.8%, to $19.57. The Semiconductor HOLDRs (SMH Quote) ETF was up 64 cents, or 1.7%, higher at $38.39. The SPDR S&P Semiconductor (XSD Quote) was recently up 37 cents, or 0.7%, to $53.46.

ETFs tracking the retail sector were also among the winners of Wednesday's session, courtesy of a jump in Best Buy (BBY Quote). The electronics retailer added nearly 4% after announcing a new stock buyback plan of $5.5 billion. Best Buy said it will raise its quarterly dividend by 30% to 13 cents, in addition to the company's plans of opening another 400 stores in North America.

Other retail names were also on the rise. Kohl's (KSS Quote) gained 2.6%, CVS (CVS Quote) added 2.2%, Kroger (KR Quote) was up 2.1%, RadioShack (RSH Quote) was gaining 1.8%,

The SPDR S&P Retail (XRT Quote) was higher by 80 cents, or 1.9%, to $43.58. The Retail HOLDRs (RTH Quote) was adding 88 cents, or 0.9%, to $104.72. The PowerShares Dynamic Consumer Discretionary (PEZ Quote) tacked on 29 cents, or 1%, to $28.30.

On the flip side, insurance-related bundled securities were among few losers of the session. Among insurers, Progressive (PGR Quote) and AIG (AIG Quote) were easing 1.3%, and both Hartford Financial Services (HIG Quote) and The Chubb Corporation (CB Quote) slumped 0.8%.

The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Insurance (IAK Quote) was losing 47 cents, or 0.8%, to $55.64. The PowerShares Dynamic Insurance (PIC Quote) was down 11 cents, or 0.6%, to $18.91.