Resource and financial issues weighed heavily on Toronto stocks Thursday as markets were battered by credit market concerns and profit-taking in commodities.

The S&P/TSX Composite index closed down 242.88 points, or 1.78%, to finish at 13,360.44.

All of the 10 major TSX groups dropped.

The financials group sank 3.41%.

Canadian Western Bank shares fell $1.20, or 4.48%, to close at $25.58, despite reporting that earnings rose 27% in Q1, to $25.9 million.

Bank of Montreal stock tumbled today, closing down $3.02, or 6.71%, at $42.

Meanwhile, Royal Bank of Canada shares fell $1.75, or 3.68%, to end at $45.81.

The materials group fell 1.01%, and the base metals sector fell 1.19%. Eastern Platinum shares fell 30¢, or 7.37%, to end at $3.77.

The gold sub-index fell 0.78%.

Gold for April delivery fell US$11.40 to end at US$977.10 an ounce on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

However, Eldorado Gold Corp. rose 84¢, or 12.63%, to close at $7.49 on a heavy day of trading (13,829,598 shares).

Meanwhile the heavyweight energy group dropped 0.98%.

Crude futures hit a record high earlier today before closing above $105 for the first time. The April contract gained 95¢, or 0.9%, to settle at
US$105.47 a barrel on the Nymex.

The information tech group also weighed on markets today, dropping 2.5%. This was led by Research in Motion. RIM shares fell $3.62, or 3.6%, to close at $96.81, after reports it plans to push the social networking capabilities of the Blackberry.

In individual stocks, Bombardier shares lost 14¢, or 2.55%, to end at $5.34.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index lost 33.16 points, or 1.18%, to close at 2,770.18.

The Canadian dollar closed out at US$1.01 today.

In New York, financials weighed heavily on stocks as news that Merrill Lynch is bowing out of the mortgage business underscored anxiety over the mortgage crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed down 214.60 points, or 1.75%, to end at 12,040.39. The S&P 500 shed 29.36 points, or 2.20%, to finish the day at 1,304.34.

Meanwhile, the tech-heavy Nasdaq shut down at 2,220.50, down 52.31 points, or 2.30%.