Lower markets as manufacturing growth slows

Slowing growth of the manufacturing sector sent the markets down during the midday with the Dow falling 79 points to 17,743. Nasdaq tumbled 35 points to 4,700.

On the upside

Beijing increased the limit of housing public accumulation fund loans which lifted shares of SouFun Holdings (NYSE: SFUN).

Shares of Exelixis (Nasdaq: EXEL) extended its gains.

Rising gold prices lifted shares of Kinross Gold (NYSE: KGC).

On the downside

Profit taking continued to weigh down shares of LifeLock (NYSE: LOCK).

Weight Watchers (NYSE: WTW) redesigned its magazine but the stock price fell.

Investors locked in profits on NephroGenex (Nasdaq: NRX).

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 5 to 4 on the NYSE and by nearly 2 to 1 on Nasdaq. The broader S&P 500 fell 10 points to 2047. Bitcoin held steady at $314.