Stocks tumbled at the open on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 hitting a fresh intraday low for the year, on worries over Europe's banking sector and as North Korea ramped up rhetoric against the South.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> dropped 276.53 points, or 2.75 percent, to 9,790.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> fell 32.10 points, or 2.99 percent, to 1,041.55. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> lost 70.98 points, or 3.21 percent, to 2,142.57.

(Editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)