* S&P 500 and EU stocks futures slip, Nikkei edges up

* Oil climbs as Iran claims it has shut Strait of Hormuz

* Treasury yields rise, Fed futures wager on September hike

* Sterling soft on reports UK PM Starmer may resign

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY, June 22 (Reuters) - Most share markets slipped in

Asia on Monday as doubts about the Middle East peace process

sent oil prices and bond yields up again, leading investors to

price in more risk of higher U.S. interest rates.

Sterling eased amid reports Prime Minister Keir Starmer was

considering his political future, after rival Andy Burnham's

decisive election victory to parliament prompted more ministers

in the governing Labour Party to call for him to go.

U.S. President Donald Trump posted that Starmer was set to

resign, while also threatening fresh attacks on Iran even as

Vice President JD Vance met Iranian officials for the first

talks under an interim peace deal.

The talks were overshadowed by Tehran's announcement it had

again closed the Strait of Hormuz, with tracking sites showing

fewer vessels transiting after 32 ships made the passage on

Friday and 26 on Saturday.

Iran's threats were enough to push Brent crude

futures up 1.1% to $81.43 a barrel, still far away from its May

peak of $126.41. U.S. crude firmed 2.7% to $78.70 a

barrel, but remained above the $67 level it traded at before the

war began.

S&P 500 futures eased 0.5%, while Nasdaq futures

lost 0.7%. In Europe, EUROSTOXX 50 futures fell

0.5%, while DAX futures dropped 0.3% and FTSE futures

dipped 0.1%.

Japan's Nikkei edged up 0.7%, having climbed almost

8% last week to all-time highs. South Korea's red-hot market

fell 0.9%, after surging more than 11% last week on

demand for semiconductor stocks.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan

eased 0.4%.

MARKET NARROWS ODDS ON FED HIKE

Treasuries remained under pressure following a hawkish turn

by the Federal Reserve last week that led markets to price in a

75% chance of a rate hike as early as September.

Futures imply 38 basis points of tightening by year-end,

while yields on 2-year notes rose 4 basis points to

the highest since early 2025 at 4.2276%.

"Our baseline call is for patience and a first hike in the

second half of 2027, but believe the margin for error and the

tolerance for further inflation is limited, with genuine risks

of earlier hikes," said Fabio Bassi, head of cross-asset

strategy at JPMorgan.

"We remain constructive on risk assets as improving labour

markets will keep rates higher for longer, supporting a narrow

leadership in Quality Growth, Large Cap and Tech," he added. "We

see upside risks for the S&P target tilted towards 8,000."

The Fed's favoured gauge of core inflation is due on

Thursday and is forecast to rise a tick to 3.4% in May,

underlining the risk of tighter policy.

Central bank speakers include Governor Christopher Waller

and Federal Reserve Bank of New York President John Williams.

The Fed's hawkish outlook kept the dollar supported at

161.44 yen, with only the threat of Japanese

intervention preventing a test of resistance at 161.96, a top

from mid-2024.

The euro eased to $1.1462, after hitting a

three-month low on Friday at $1.1418. Political uncertainty

nudged sterling down 0.2% to $1.3210.

"Amid the uncertainty around a potential challenge against

the UK PM and what that means for the fiscal outlook, the

likelihood is that gilts will remain under selling pressure to

start the week," said Skye Masters, head of market research at

NAB.

In commodity markets, higher bond yields weighed on

non-interest-paying gold which slipped 0.1% to $4,154 an ounce

.