Asia open: US futures slip; dollar tops 100.55

US equity futures in Asia slipped ahead of the Juneteenth holiday, with E-mini S&P 500 futures down about 0.5% and Nasdaq 100 futures down roughly 0.7%. Trading followed a risk-on session in the U.S. on Thursday, when the Nasdaq 100 rose 2.5%, the S&P 500 gained 1.1% and the Russell 2000 increased 2.1%. Investors pared exposure after U.S. Vice President JP Vance delayed a planned trip for Iran talks as a 60-day window to pursue a nuclear agreement and a broader U.S.-Iran settlement begins. Long-term inflation risk premiums eased and the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield fell three basis points to 4.45%, remaining above its 50-day moving average near 4.40%. Short-term yields stayed close to multi-decade highs, leaving the Treasury yield curve inverted following the Federal Open Market Committee’s hawkish dot-plot update. West Texas Intermediate crude has dropped about 10% since the start of the week, dipping below $74 before recovering to trade around $75.50 a barrel and holding at the 200-day moving average. An hourly relative-strength momentum indicator registered a bullish divergence in an oversold zone. Short-term support for WTI sits near $75.25 and $73.40; a break and hourly close below $73.40 would expose further support at $70.25 and in the $67.40–$66.10 area. Upside resistance is near $80.75 and in the $82.98–$84.94 gap from June 15. Brent crude traded near $79.25 a barrel. Spot gold fell about 1.4% to close near $4,209 an ounce and moved lower in the Asian session, approaching its June 11 low around $4,024 an ounce. The U.S. dollar index rose above 100.55. The euro and the British pound traded near three-month lows at about 1.1458 and 1.3205 against the dollar. The Federal Reserve’s revised economic projections supported the dollar and influenced market positioning ahead of the holiday. The combination of the U.S. holiday, delayed diplomatic talks and recent moves in oil and yields kept trading cautious in early Asian sessions.