March 6 (Reuters) - Australian shares fell on Thursday, dragged down by energy and bank stocks, while investors assessed the economic implications of the country's top trading partner China unlocking more fiscal stimulus.

The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO dropped 0.6% to hit 8,096, as of 1205 GMT. The benchmark fell 0.7% on Wednesday.

Australia's top trading partner China unleashed more stimulus on Wednesday, as it looks to defend its economy from the ramifications of a tariff face-off with the U.S.

Energy stocks .AXEJ slumped about 2.5%, after crude oil prices settled down to their lowest in months as the U.S. reported larger-than-expected stockpiles of the commodity. O/R

Sector major Woodside Energy WDS.AX shed as much as 5.1% to hit a more than three-year low of A$22.89, while smaller rival Santos STO.AX fell 1%.

Heavyweight financials .AXFJ dropped 0.5% and were set for a third straight session of losses.

Major lender Westpac WBC.AX shed 0.7%, while the Commonwealth Bank of Australia CBA.AX slumped 0.5%.

Healthcare stocks .AXHJ were also among the benchmark's top losers, down 1.3%, while consumer discretionary stocks .AXDJ lost 1.1%.

Biopharmaceutical company CSL CSL.AX dropped 1.1%, while content creator Aristocrat Leisure ALL.AX retreated 1.2%.

Bucking the trend, however, domestic miners .AXMM, who export their iron ore to top steelmaker China, gained 0.3%.

Mining major Fortescue FMG.AX, which ships most of its iron ore to China, climbed 0.8%. Sector giant Rio Tinto RIO.AX, however, shed 1.4% as underlying commodity prices weighed on sentiment. IRONORE/

Overnight, the U.S. Dow Jones Industrial Average .DJI rose 485.60 points, or 1.14%, to 43,006.59. The S&P 500 .SPX gained 64.48 points, or 1.12%, while Nasdaq .IXIC gained 267.57 points, or 1.46%.

Meanwhile, New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 was trading largely flat on Thursday.

(Reporting by Nichiket Sunil in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)

((Nichiket.Sunil@thomsonreuters.com;))

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