U.S. President Donald Trump and his team are weighing "a range of options" to acquire Denmark's Greenland, including "utilizing the U.S. military," a senior U.S. official said on Tuesday.
The president and his team are discussing a range of options to pursue this important foreign policy goal, including purchasing the territory from Denmark, establishing a free association agreement with Greenland, and utilizing the U.S. military, according to the official.
The official said that Trump would like to acquire Greenland during his current term, and that the issue of acquiring Greenland by the U.S. will not disappear.
According to a White House statement, acquiring Greenland is a national security priority of the United States, despite the opposition of some NATO leaders, adding that Trump is actively seeking to reach an agreement.
On the same day, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told lawmakers in a classified briefing that Trump administration's current tough stance on Greenland did not signal an imminent military action and that the core goal is to buy the island from Denmark.
Trump weighs options to acquire Greenland including use of U.S. military: U.S. official
U.S. stocks ended lower on Tuesday as climbing U.S. Treasury yields continued to weigh on investor sentiment.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 322.24 points, or 0.65 percent, to 49,363.88. The The Standard and Poor's 500 sank 49.44 points, or 0.67 percent, to 7,353.61, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index shed 220.03 points, or 0.84 percent, to close at 25,870.71.
A primary source of downward pressure came from the fixed-income market. The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed back above 4.6 percent, while the 30-year Treasury yield nearly touched 5.2 percent, marking its highest level in nearly 19 years.
The high-yield environment acted as a drag on high-valuation growth sectors, which are particularly sensitive to elevated interest rates. Six of the 11 primary The Standard and Poor's 500 sectors closed in negative territory, with materials and communication services leading the declines by dropping 2.27 percent and 1.58 percent, respectively. In contrast, the healthcare sector gained 1.09 percent and the energy sector advanced 1.03 percent.
Market participants are also focusing on Wednesday's upcoming after-hours earnings release from Nvidia.
U.S. stocks close lower amid rising yields
