Stock markets tumbled Friday as news that investment banking giant Bear Stearns Cos. Inc. will take an emergency funding bailout from J.P. Morgan and the U.S. Federal Reserve revived fears of a credit crunch.

The S&P/TSX composite index shed 190.66 points, or 1.42%, to close at 13,252.84.

Nine of the 10 major TSX groups retreated.

The financials group sank 2.92%. Bank of Montreal shares led the fall, losing $1.73, or 4.13%, to end at $40.17.

Royal Bank of Canada shares fell $1.83, or 3.86, to close at $45.52 and TD Bank also tumbled, losing $2.09, or 3.3%, ending at $61.29.

Bank of Nova Scotia stock lost $1.56, or 3.42%, to close at $44.08. CIBC fared slightly better, but still lost $1.66, or 2.7%, closing at $59.90.

The materials index gained 0.02%, with losses in base metals tempered by the gold sub-index, which rose 0.93%.

Gold for April delivery rose US$5.70 to end at US$999.50 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Goldcorp Inc. shares gained 77¢, or 1.75%, to close at $44.88. And Kinross Gold Corp. stock closed up 43¢, or 1.65%, at $26.51 on a heavy day of trading (13,784,825 shares).

The heavyweight energy group dropped 1.1%.

Crude oil for April delivery closed down 12¢ to US$110.21 a barrel on the Nymex, after hitting a high of US$112.75. For the week, the contract gained US$5.06.

Canadian Natural Resources shares lost $1.14, or 1.54%, to end at $72.72. Meanwhile Encana shares gained 54¢, or 0.69%, to close at $78.50.

In individual stocks, Imax Corp. shares squeaked out a 8¢ gain, or 1.21%, to end at $6.68 after announcing a Q4 loss of US$10.1 million, compared with $9.2 million a year ago.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 38.63 points, or 1.44%, to finish at 2,642.04.

The Canadian dollar closed out at US$1.01, unchanged from yesterday, after Statistics Canada reported that productivity dropped in Q4, the first fall in more than a year.

In New York, the Bear Stearns rescue mission sparked a sell-off in the financial sector and markets suffered. Bear Stearns shares fell more than 40% in afternoon trading.

The Dow Jones industrial average lost 194.65 points, or 1.60%, to end at 11,951.09. The S&P 500 lost 27.34 points, or 2.08%, to close at 1,288.14.

As well, the tech-heavy Nasdaq closed down 51.12 points, or 2.26%, at 2,212.49.

For the week, though, the Dow managed to finish with a gain of 0.5%, while the S&P 500 fell 0.4% and the Nasdaq was unchanged.