Wednesday's ETF Winners & Losers

Exchange-traded funds tracking basic materials were among the top performers of Wednesday's session, thanks to a nearly 2% gain in

Alcoa

(AA) - Get Report

.

Before the opening bell, Bear Stearns downgraded

Alcan

(AL) - Get Report

to peer perform from outperform. Last month, Alcoa made a $27 billion bid for Alcan, and Bear Stearns said it was doubtful that Alcan would receive a rivaling bid.

The

Ultra Basic Materials ProShares

(UYM) - Get Report

ETF was recently adding $1.88, or 2.2%, to $87.16. The

Materials Select Sector SPDR

(XLB) - Get Report

was gaining 56 cents, or 1.4%, to $40.12. The

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Basic Materials

(IYM) - Get Report

ETF was higher by 87 cents, or 1.3%, to $69.48.

Energy-related ETFs were also among the winners Wednesday, as the latest read on crude and gasoline stocks had oil and gas prices moving higher.

The Energy Department's weekly inventory report showed a meager gain of 100,000 barrels in crude inventories. Gasoline stocks were unchanged from last week, and distillate stocks rose by only 300,000 barrels. The front-month July crude contract was up 33 cents to $65.68 a barrel, and gasoline was adding 2 cents at $2.14 a gallon.

The

SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Equipment & Services

(XES) - Get Report

ETF was adding 87 cents, or 2.4%, to $36.15. The

Oil Services HOLDRs

(OIH) - Get Report

was higher by $3.44, or 2.1%, to $170.56. The

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Oil Equipment Index

(IEZ) - Get Report

ETF was recently up $1.12, or 1.9%, to $56.06. The

PowerShares Dynamic Oil & Gas Services

(PXJ) - Get Report

was rising 51 cents, or 2.1%, to $25.04.

The

B2B Internet HOLDRs

(BHH)

ETF was also among the gainers of the day as holding

Checkfree

(CKFR)

added 2.1%. The ETF was recently higher by 4 cents, or 2.7%, to $2.29.

On the losing side, the

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Healthcare Provider

(IHF) - Get Report

ETF was among the few decliners, down 0.5%. The ETF suffered from losses in holdings

Humana

(HUM) - Get Report

,

Cigna

(CI) - Get Report

and

Coventry Health

(CVH)

.

The iShares Dow Jones U.S. Healthcare Provider was down 36 cents to $59.40.

The

Internet Infrastructure HOLDRs

(IIH)

ETF was also losing ground, due to declines of 1.2% or more in holdings

NaviSite

(NAVI) - Get Report

and

InfoSpace

(INSP) - Get Report

. The ETF was recently lower by 3 cents, or 0.6%, to $5.39.