Wall Street fell sharply yesterday as financials resumed their relentless downward path and technology stocks came under heavy selling pressure after a key industry group cut its sales outlook for semi-conductors.

In the background, oil prices jumped more than $5 a barrel, taking the momentum out of Tuesday's shallow rally in consumer-facing shares. The consumer discretionary sector fell 2.2 per cent while the homebuilder sub-sector fell 8 per cent to within touching distance of a seven-year low.