Chinese manufacturing slows, markets close lower

A slowdown in Chinese manufacturing activity sent the markets down to a lower close with the Dow dropping 51 points to 17,776. Nasdaq plunged 64 points to 4,727.

On the upside

Shares of Buenaventura (NYSE: BVN), Iamgold (NYSE: IAG) and McEwen Mining (NYSE: MUX) rose as gold prices climbed.

Bargain hunters lifted shares of Exxon Mobil (NYSE: XOM).

Rising silver prices lifted shares of Pan American Silver (Nasdaq: PAAS) and Silver Strand Resources (Nasdaq: SSRI).

On the downside

Shares of California Resources (NYSE: CRC) fell on its first trading day.

Top executives at Twitter (NYSE: TWTR) sold nearly $50 million worth of company stock with chief executive Dick Costolo unloading more than half of his holdings.

Flat global steel production in October weighed down shares of AK Steel (NYSE: AKS).

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of nearly 7 to 2 on both the NYSE and on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 fell 14 points to 2053. Bitcoin added $1 to $378.