Stock markets were hammered hard today as fears of a deepening credit crisis were ignited by news that J.P. Morgan bought ailing investment bank Bear Stearns for a mere US$2 a share.

In Toronto, the S&P/TSX Composite index closed down 300.69 points, or 2.27%, at 12,952.15.

Nine of the 10 major TSX groups lost today, with the health care sector posting the only rise.

The financials group fell 2.52%, as CIBC shares were down $2.96, or 4.94%, to end at $56.94.

The other major banks didn’t hold up much better, with Royal Bank of Canada shares down $1.20, or 2.64%, to close at $44.32 and TD Bank Financial shares fell $1.02, or 1.66%, to $60.27.

As well, The Bank of Nova Scotia fell $1.21, or 2.75%, to end at $42.87 and the Bank of Montreal shares sank $1.02, or 2.54%, to $39.15.

The materials group regained some earlier losses and closed down 1.79%, as did the gold sub-index, which lost 0.72%.

Goldcorp shares lost 80¢, or 1.78%, to close at $44, while Kinross Gold Corp. fell 59¢, or 2.23%, to close at $25.92.

Gold futures for April delivery closed up US$3.10, or 0.3%, at US$1,002.60 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after hitting an overnight high of US$1,033.90.

Meanwhile, Potash Corp. shares fell $3.69, or 2.33%, to end at $154.45.

The heavyweight energy group fell 2.78%, as crude saw its biggest decline since 1991. Crude for April delivery closed down 4.1%, or $4.53, at US$105.68 a barrel on the Nymex.

Talisman Energy Inc. shares fell 72¢, or $4.16, to close at $16.59. Encana Corp. shares fell $2.24, or 2.85%, to close at $76.26. Suncor Energy Inc. stock closed down $2.60, or 2.5%, at $101.53.

The junior S&P/TSX Venture composite index fell 77.35 points, or 2.93%, to finish at 2,564.69.

The Canadian dollar closed out at par with the greenback today.

In New York, markets regained much of the morning’s heavy losses as J.P. Morgan’s stock pushed markets forward amid the panic.

After a roller-coaster day, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 21.16 points, or 0.18%, to end at 11,972.25.

The S&P 500 shed 11.54 points, or 0.90%, to close at 1,276.60, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq composites index lost 35.48 points, or 1.6%, at 2,177.01.