China was still closed and outside of the trading system. The largest developing country with manufacturing exports was Taiwan. When China joined the United Nations in October 1971, Taiwan was no longer listed in the reports on world trade in manufacturers.

Investors could be starting to realize that US-China trade talks will continue to drag out, and mirror the meandering progress of the 2018-2019 dispute.

Wall Street initially cheered soft inflation data and hopeful tariff news, but momentum stalled in late-day trading.