(Adds details, updates prices)
* TSX down 54.32 points, or 0.4 percent, at 13,439.17
* Half of TSX's 10 main groups lower, 2 fallers for every
gainer
TORONTO, March 23 (Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell
on Wednesday as gold miners and other materials stocks weighed
with lower gold and other commodity prices, and insider trading
charges sunk Amaya shares.
Gold fell sharply after hawkish rate hike comments from U.S.
Federal Reserve officials boosted the U.S. currency.
The most influential weights on the Canadian index included
Barrick Gold Corp ABX.TO , which fell 6.9 percent to C$17.61,
and Goldcorp Inc G.TO , down 6.1 percent at C$20.31.
Shares in gambling website operator Amaya Inc AYA.TO fell
21.5 percent to C$14.57, after its chief executive was charged
with insider trading by Quebec's securities regulator.
The stock had been halted until 9:50.
At 9:59 a.m. EDT (1359 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's
S&P/TSX composite index .GSPTSE was down 54.32 points, or 0.4
percent, at 13,439.17.
The energy group retreated 1 percent as oil prices fell
after U.S. stock build data reinforced concerns about a global
glut. Canadian Natural Resources CNQ.TO fell 2.6
percent to C$35.1.
Half of the index's 10 main groups were in negative
territory, although decliners outnumbered advancers by more than
2-to-1.
The materials group, which includes precious and base metals
miners and fertilizer companies, lost 3.7 percent.
First Quantum Minerals Ltd FM.TO lost 6.8 percent to
C$7.71 and Teck Resources Ltd TCKb.TO fell 5.2 percent to
C$10.56, as copper and other metal prices fell.
How soon Canada erases its budget deficit hinges on the
extent of economic growth, the country's prime minister said on
Wednesday, a day after his government unveiled a budget that
foresees years of shortfalls to boost growth.