"I was a little surprised by some of the weakness in the data. Some of it is weather related and some trade related, so it's hard to get a good feel for how it would be," without those factors, said Paul Nolte, portfolio manager at Kingsview Asset Management in Chicago. "We've had a tremendous run in the market, and we had weak data that allowed investors to take some profits," he said. Recent gains have been driven by of progress in U.S.-China trade talks. The United States and China have started to outline commitments in principle on the stickiest issues in their trade dispute, marking the most significant progress yet toward ending a seven-month trade war, sources told Reuters on Thursday.

Source: New York Times February 21, 2019 14:14 UTC