BANGKOK, Dec 1, (AP): US futures fell and Asian shares began the week mixed, with Tokyo’s benchmark falling nearly 2% on Monday after the release of data showing weak factory activity. Oil prices surged more than $1 a barrel. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 declined 1.9% to 49,303.28 after the government reported weaker than expected corporate investment data.

Regional reports on manufacturing activity are being closely watched for signs of how US President Donald Trump's higher tariffs are affecting Asian economies. A survey of Japanese factory managers showed activity slowing in November. The S&P Global Japan Manufacturing Purchasing Managers index, or PMI, was at 48.7 last month, a slight improvement from 48.2 in October but still in contractionary territory on a scale of zero to 100 where 50 marks the cutoff for expansion.

It was the fifth straight month of contraction. "The latest PMI data showed that Japan’s manufacturing sector continued to struggle with weak demand conditions in November, with firms signaling another solid decline in overall new business,” Annabel Fiddes, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, said in a report.

China’s factory activity contracted for the eighth straight month in November, according to an official survey released Sunday, underscoring challenges for the country’s economy despite an extension of the trade truce between the US and China. But Hong Kong's Hang Seng climbed 0.4% to 25,973.07. Big online food delivery company Meituan's shares fell 2.8% after the company reported it fell to a net loss in the last quarter as intense competition in the delivery industry pushed prices lower, even as the company's revenues rose.

The Shanghai Composite index gained 0.7% to 3,914.01. In Seoul, the Kospi slipped 0.2% to 3,920.37. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 declined 0.6% to 8,565.20. Taiwan's Taiex lost 1% and the Sensex in India shed 0.1%. Across Asia, PMI readings reflected weak factory activity for November, though exports from the region have been rebounding in recent months, Shivaan Tandon, Asia economist for Capital Economics, said in a commentary. Consumer spending during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday retailing bonanza was expected to exceed expectations, despite uncertainty over the outlook for the U.S. economy.