Australia shares drop on virus worries; miners drag Australian shares looked set to snap a four-day winning rally on Wednesday as blue-chip miners dragged and a rise in domestic coronavirus cases sparked fears of a snap lockdown in the state of Victoria. The SP|ASX 200 index fell 0.23% to 7,098.6 points by 0024 GMT, a retreat from Tuesday''s two-week closing peak. The benchmark closed 0.98% higher in the previous session. Australia''s second-most populous state of Victoria recorded six new cases of COVID-19 on Wednesday, after an infected person was among about 23,400 people who attended a football match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground during the weekend. Heavyweight Aussie miners tumbled 0.9% as China''s warning against hoarding and speculation kept market participants on the edge and pressured iron ore prices. The country''s mining triumvirate, BHP Group, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals, all tumbled over 2% each. Local energy stocks dived 1%, even as oil prices moved a shade higher overnight. Sector heavyweights, Worley Ltd fell 1.8%, followed by Beach Energy Ltd, losing 1.4%.