Risk assets slip from multi-month highs Monday 08:00 GMT. Growth-focused assets are mildly softer, pulling major "risk" barometers back from multi-month highs as the new year rally loses impetus. The dollar and US Treasury prices are firmer - a traditional indicator that investors are more cautious - while industrial commodities struggle; copper is off 0.3 per cent to $3.67 a pound and Brent crude is 10 cents cheaper at $111.21 a barrel. Gold is barely changed at $1,656 an ounce. The FTSE All-World equity index is down 0.1 per cent after the Asia-Pacific region slipped 0.2 per cent and with the FTSE Eurofirst 300 fractionally softer at the open. US stock futures point to the S&P 500 easing 5 points to 1,461 when trading begins later in the day. However, that will leave Wall Street's benchmark only 0.3 per cent below Friday's five-year high after a strong start to 2013. The S&P 500 rose 4.6 per cent last week - gains reflected globally - as investors cheered a fiscal cliff deal, such as it was, and further evidence of improving economic conditions in the US and China. Equities also continue to be supported by ultra-easy monetary policy by many of the world's significant central banks. An example of this can be seen of late in the Japanese stock market, where the Nikkei 225 had by the end of last week risen more than 20 per cent since mid-November on expectations that the Bank of Japan will expand its asset purchasing programme. But the Nikkei 225 fell 0.8 per cent on Monday as bullish investors took a stall in recent yen weakness - which had boosted exporters - as an excuse to take profits. Traders were also wary that the Tokyo market looked vulnerable to a pullback, after the Nikkei 225"s relative strength index (RSI), a measure of momentum, moved above the 80-point level and well into "overbought" territory, which is deemed to begin above 70. Such concerns probably explain the broader market caution at the start of the week. For example, the RSI of the FTSE All-World is currently 73 and the FTSE Eurofirst 300"s closed on Friday at 74. The S&P 500"s RSI is less extended at 64, but another indicator suggests investors may be too complacent and thus sensitive to a retracement. The Vix index, a gauge of the price traders are prepared to pay to protect against volatility - which usually falls when the market is more relaxed - has shed nearly 40 per cent since the start of the year. Its current level of 13.8 has often been a precursor to a market retracement. It may also be the case that dealers are more cynical about the "post-cliff" bounce given the fiscal hurdles that still need to be navigated in Washington, and the potential for tortuous debate to once again affect sentiment. Another sign that investors are more tentative is a preponderance of buyers in the highly-rated fixed income market. The yield on 10-year US Treasuries rose to an eight-month high of 1.97 per cent last week - with some fearing that the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing programme may be shorter than expected - and is down 1 basis point in the current session to 1.90 per cent. Equivalent Bunds are off 2bp to 1.53 per cent. The recently widening yield differential between the Treasuries and Bunds continues to support the dollar. The dollar index is up 0.1 per cent and the euro is down 0.2 per cent to $1.3048.