U.S. stocks plummet at opening

U.S. stocks opened sharply lower on Tuesday, pressured by ongoing concerns about debt talks with Greece and a surge in the U.S. dollar.

Greek debt issues have been on the back of attention as investors continued to watch the region with caution. European equities were lower on Tuesday.

The dollar soared nearly 1 percent as the euro fell sharply on the beginning of quantitative easing in the euro zone.

The European Central Bank began its 60 billion euros per month bond buying program on Monday with the aim to fend off deflation and boost the eurozone economy by pumping more money.

In corporate news, chipmaker Qualcomm announced a 15 billion dollars buyback program Monday. The technology giant said it will also raise its quarterly dividend by 14 percent and purchase 10 billion dollars' worth of stock within 12 months. Shares jumped 1.34 in the early trading.

Shortly after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 141.41 points, or 0.79 percent, to 17,854.31. The S&P 500 sunk 15.96 points, or 0.77 percent, to 2,063.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index plummeted 39.94 points, or 0.81 percent, to 4,902.50.

U.S. stocks posted modest gains on Monday, as investors re-assessed the impact of February's strong jobs data while no major releases were due during the day.

U.S. equities witnessed a sharp decline Friday, as investors worried that a strong monthly jobs report would heighten speculations that the Federal Reserve could raise interest rates sooner than expected. Endi