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. The major indexes fell about 2%, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which lost more than 275 points.

The National Association of Realtors said sales resumed their decline in June after a slight rebound in May. Existing home sales declined by 2.6% in June, well beyond the 1% drop economists had forecast.

Homebuilders and financial companies were among the steepest decliners today because they have both struggled with the declining housing market.

The director at investment research group LanczGlobal, Alan Lancz, said investors are concluding that while financials had been oversold and were due for a rebound, problems remain with tight credit and souring mortgage debt.

“You have the rally and you almost get the hangover now where you say ‘You know, we’re not out of the woods yet,'” he said.

According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 283.10, or 2.43%, to 11,349.28. The pullback erased the nearly 170 points added in the two prior sessions. Last week, the Dow gained nearly 400 points. While some declines after the latest rally wouldn’t have come as a surprise, the drop today revealed fresh unease about the economy.

Broader stock indicators also declined today. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 29.65, or 2.31%, to 1,252.54. A jump in Amazon.com Inc. shares helped contain declines in the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index, which fell 45.77, or 1.97%, to 2,280.11.