NEW YORK - Stocks tumbled on Tuesday with the S&P 500 and the Dow industrials closing at near three-month lows, as regional manufacturing data signaled the recession is worsening while fresh worries about European banks underscored the global nature of the downturn.

* Global bank worries sink financials further

* Energy shares follow oil prices lower

* The Dow Jones industrial average <.DJI> fell 297.81 points, or 3.79 percent, to close unofficially at 7,552.60. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.SPX> slid 37.67 points, or 4.56 percent, to 789.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.IXIC> tumbled 63.70 points, or 4.15 percent, to 1,470.66.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Leslie Adler)