Jan 17 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Tuesday, pulled down by mining stocks after China reported a sharp rise in COVID-related deaths since abandoning its zero-COVID policy last month, while miner Rio Tinto reported quarterly production slightly ahead of estimates.
The S&P/ASX 200 index slipped 0.2% to 7,375.1 by 2331 GMT after a four-session winning streak. It had hit a seven-month high on Monday.
Miners were the top losers on the benchmark with a drop of 1.3% after China said nearly 60,000 people with COVID had died in hospital since it abandoned its zero-COVID policy last month.
Mining companies BHP and Fortescue dropped 1.7% and 3%, respectively.
Rio Tinto declined 1.1% after the miner hinted that China's reopening from COVID restrictions was set to raise near-term risks of labour and supply chain shortages.
Energy stocks declined 0.8%, with oil and gas giants Woodside Energy and Santos falling 0.1% and 0.9%, respectively.
Gold stocks declined nearly 1% on weak bullion prices. Newcrest Mining, the country's largest gold miner, slipped 1.5%.
Among individual stocks, electronics retailer JB HI-FI advanced 3.6% and was the top gainer on the index, while Link Administration dropped 0.3% after its UK-based Link Fund Solutions was served a group action lawsuit by law firm Leigh Day in England.
Origin Energy skidded 2.1% as the power producer extended exclusivity period for the Brookfield-led consortium to finalise its A$15.5 billion ($10.79 billion) buyout bid.
Australia will report its December unemployment rate on Thursday. Analysts at ANZ see a continued tightness in the labour market and expect the unemployment rate to come in at 3.4%.
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index gained 0.4% to 11,852.73. The country's business confidence hit its lowest level since 1974 in the fourth quarter, as companies grappled with higher interest rates, cost pressures and soft demand.
($1 = 1.4368 Australian dollars) (Reporting by Navya Mittal in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu)