Blue-chip stocks fell sharply in New York today on concerns about domestic earnings reports and Brazil's fragile economy.

Broad market indexes gave up moderate gains in the final hour of trading to end significantly lower.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 124.35 points - or by 1.3 per cent - to 9,200.23. The Dow climbed as much as 61 points in the first 30 minutes of trading but stumbled in mid-morning and never regained its footing.

Financial stocks fell sharply after Brazil's real opened sharply lower against the dollar and the country reported that dollars were leaving the country at a very rapid pace.

Oil stocks fell after Mobil said its earnings were hurt by sharply lower oil prices in the fourth quarter.