NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- U.S. stock futures were slipping on the first trading day of December after Japan received a downgrade from Moody's, manufacturing in China and the eurozone was soft, and oil extended Friday's dive. S&P 500 futures were down 0.39%, though they were still in range of record highs achieved over the last few weeks. Dow Jones Industrial Average futures slipped 0.31% and Nasdaq futures fell 0.2%. Must Read: Warren Buffett's Top 10 Dividend-Paying Stocks for 2014 Japan's sovereign debt rating was downgraded one notch to A1 from Aa3 as ratings agency Moody's weighed concerns the government can stimulate growth while managing its debts. Asian markets closed mixed, though Japan's Nikkei added 0.75%, boosted by a 0.1% drop in the yen. Oil prices were being squeezed again on Monday after the news last week that OPEC would not constrain production to address oversupply and soft demand. After tanking more than 7% on Friday, West Texas Intermediate crude had dropped another 1% to $65.49 a barrel. Since midyear, prices have plummeted nearly 39%. Oil companies were slipping along with commodity prices. Exxon Mobil (XOM) dropped 0.84% in premarket trading, ConocoPhillips (COP) fell 1.5%, Hess (HES) tumbled 1.3%, and Chevron (CVX) slid 0.89%. The Energy Selector Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) declined 1.1%. Airline stocks were continuing to benefit from a drop in gas prices. Southwest Airlines (LUV) added 2.1% before the bell, while Delta Air Lines (DAL) climbed 1.8%. European markets were trading lower after the latest manufacturing data for November showed a continued slowdown in Germany, France and Italy, the eurozone's three largest economies. Germany's DAX was down 0.1% while France's CAC 40 slipped 0.46%. On the economic calendar, the Markit PMI manufacturing index will be released just after the markets open on Monday. Economists expect a reading of 55 for November, slightly lower than the result in October. At 10 a.m. EST, the ISM manufacturing survey will be released.

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