Fewer than expected jobs were added in December to weigh the markets down during the midday with the Dow falling 57 points to 11,640. Nasdaq lost 18 points to 2690.

On the upside

Affymax (Nasdaq: AFFY) named president and chief operating officer John Orwin to replace chief executive Arlene Morris on February 1.

Hawaiian Electric (NYSE: HE) signed an agreement with Aina Koa Pono to provide sustainable local biofuels for generating electricity in Hawaii.

Capstone Turbine (Nasdaq: CPST) received a follow-on order from a large independent oil and gas company in South Texas for an additional six megawatts.

On the downside

A midstage clinical trial of XOMA's (Nasdaq: XOMA) diabetes treatment indicated that hemoglobin A1c levels decreased less than expected.

Goldman Sachs downgraded AK Steel Holding (NYSE: AKS) to a Sell rating.

Supervalu (NYSE: SVU) named Janel Haugarth to the position of executive vice president of merchandising, replacing Steve Jungmann.

In the broad market, declining issues outpaced advancers by a margin of more than 2 to 1 on the NYSE and by nearly 5 to 2 on Nasdaq. The Russell 2000 which tracks small cap stocks tumbled 10 points to 781.