NEW YORK, July 24 (Xinhua) -- Wall Street dropped sharply Thursday, after worse-than-expected home sales weighed on shares of homebuilders and financials.

Traders work in the oil futures pit at the New York Mercantile Exchange in New York, Thursday, July 24, 2008. (Photo: China Daily/Agencies) Photo Gallery>>>

    The U.S. National Association of Realtors said existing home sales fell by 2.6 percent in June to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.86 million units, the worst level in ten years. The reading is worse than one percent drop economists had expected.

    The sales decline worried investor that the housing slump will lead to more mortgage losses for financial firms. Citigroup, JPMorgan and Bank of America led the retreat.

    In addition, consumer stocks also weighed on the market. Ryland Group, the homebuilder for first-time buyers, led the group's decline after it posted a second-quarter loss exceeded estimates. Shares of hotels and restaurants all suffered decline. And Ford Motor tumbled 15 percent after it posted the worst quarterly performance in its history Thursday, losing 8.67 billion U.S. dollars in the second quarter.

    Amazon.com Inc. shares climbed after it reported late Wednesday that second-quarter earnings more than doubled and easily topped analysts' expectations. It also raised its full-year revenue projections.

    In other economic news, the U.S. Labor Department reported that the number of people filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose by 34,000 to 406,000 for the week ending July 19, reaching the highest level since March.

    The Dow Jones dipped 283.10, or 2.4 percent, to 11,349.28. Broader indexes also declined. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 29.65, or 2.3 percent, to 1,252.54; and the Nasdaq slipped 45.77, or 2 percent, to 2,280.11.