Material stocks drag TSX lower

(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index fell on Wednesday as weakness in materials stocks overshadowed upbeat earnings from National Bank of Canada and Royal Bank of Canada.

* The materials sector, which includes precious and base metals miners and fertilizer companies, lost 1.3% as gold futures fell 0.3% to $1,799 an ounce.

* Miners Dundee Precious Metals Inc and Centerra Gold fell 3.9% and 3.8%, respectively, and were the top drag on the TSX.

* At 09:37 a.m. ET (14:37 GMT), the Toronto Stock Exchange's S&P/TSX composite index was down 77.04 points, or 0.42%, at 18,253.05.

* The financials sector gained 0.1% as Royal Bank of Canada and National Bank of Canada topped analysts' estimates for first-quarter profit.

* The energy sector dropped 0.7%, even though U.S. crude prices were up 1% a barrel, while Brent crude added 1.1%.

* On the TSX, 62 issues were higher, while 150 issues declined for a 2.42-to-1 ratio to the downside, with 24.02 million shares traded.

* The largest percentage gainers on the TSX were printing company Transcontinental Inc , which jumped 2.3%, and National Bank of Canada , which rose 2.3%.

* The most heavily traded shares by volume were Manulife Financial Corp , Suncor Energy Inc , and Great-West Lifeco Inc .

* The TSX posted 12 new 52-week highs and no new lows.

* Across all Canadian issues there were 44 new 52-week highs and six new lows, with total volume of 43.98 million shares.

(Reporting by Amal S in Bengaluru; Editing by Aditya Soni)