Wall Street abruptly ended an earnings-driven rally and closed sharply lower today after a steeper-than-expected decline in existing home sales and worries about the financial sector chilled the market's recent optimism.

Concerns over the economic impact of the Asian earthquake tsunami disasters pushed stocks lower in the United States today, putting Wall Street’s recent rally on hold despite decent holiday sales figures and falling oil prices.

Shares of Amazon.com Inc fell as much as 10%, their biggest decline in two years, after the world’s largest internet retailer reported second-quarter profit and sales were less than analysts’ estimates.

Over time, growth rates in US internet users and usage will see a "gradual" slowdown given the high number of US internet users, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Mary Meeker, who continues to believe that international growth will be stronger than US growth.