(Updates to close)
Jan 30 (Reuters) - Australian shares closed lower on Monday as investors held off to assess the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's policies on the global political and economic landscape.
The S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO , which had risen for the last three sessions, fell 0.9 percent, or 52.49 points, to 5,661.5, recovering slightly after falling 1.2 percent during trade, its biggest dip in two months.
Trump put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar on citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. the White House seemingly focused on border security and trade protectionism, clarity on the administration's economic policies was still absent.
"We didn't expect to see the market down 1 percent," said Chris Weston, an institutional dealer at IG Markets.
"This suggests that the markets are starting to get a little bit more nervous about Trump's protectionist policies and their potential impact on global trade; not to mention the controversy around the policies and the fact the world seems to be uniting in some sort of condemnation."
Losses were led by ASX financial index .AXFJ , which fell 0.9 percent, with the "Big Four" banks down 0.45 percent to 1 percent.
Miners also recorded losses as investors booked profits.
The Australian mining .AXMM and basic materials .AXMJ indexes, which gained 4.4 percent and 4 percent respectively last week, lost more than 0.4 percent each.
Mining majors BHP Billiton (LON:BLT) BHP.AX and Fortescue Metals FMG.AX fell 0.6 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively.
Energy stocks .AXEJ showed losses as oil prices extended declines, although gold miners gained as prices were driven higher by a weaker U.S. dollar. GOL/
New Zealand's benchmark S&P/NZX 50 index .NZ50 closed 0.7 percent, or 48.7 points, down at 7,085.56. The benchmark posted its biggest percentage decline in over a month.
Losses were led by telecom and utilities stocks. Chorus Ltd CNU.NZ fell 3.7 percent, while Contact Energy CEN.NZ dropped 1.4 percent.