* Aussie energy stocks track worst day in two weeks
* IMF warning offsets upbeat China trade data
* NZ outshines ahead of fresh fiscal stimulus
By Shashwat Awasthi
April 15 (Reuters) - Australia's main stock index fell on Wednesday as prospects of a deep global recession and its impact on the demand for crude oil hammered energy stocks and offset better-than-expected trade data from China, the country's biggest trading partner.
The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO fell 0.3% by 0039 GMT, with a 3.4% drop in energy stocks .AXEJ weighing the most. If current levels hold, the energy sub-index is on course for its worst day in nearly two weeks.
Oil prices slid sharply amid persisting worries that even the record output-cut deal signed by major producers this week would not be enough to cushion a coronavirus-induced hit to demand. O/R
"The deal in its current format sorely disappointed relative to market expectations even if executed to the letter," said Stephen Innes, chief global markets strategist at AxiCorp.
"Markets believe the deal won't come close to offsetting demand devastation and isn't even large enough to eat into what's in storage."
A slump in crude prices took the shine off data that showed exports out of China fell less than feared and an overnight rally on Wall Street where optimism grew ahead of imminent announcements from President Donald Trump about re-opening the U.S. economy. .N
Market participants remained on tenterhooks as the International Monetary Fund forecast that the global economy would this year endure its steepest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s. handful of single-stock moves saw Lynas LYC.AX advance 3% as third-quarter output of rare earths jumped from the prior quarter and as the miner said it applied for an exemption from coronavirus-linked curbs in Malaysia to resume operations. New Zealand, where the government said it will unveil further fiscal stimulus this week, the main bourse .NZ50 jumped 3.2% to hit its highest since March 12.
All major sub-sectors in the benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index were trading in the black.