Asia stocks are set to drift Monday near the highest in a year and a half, as calm settles on financial markets heading into the year-end. Futures slipped in Tokyo and Sydney, and were little changed in Hong Kong. U.S. stocks ended Friday mixed as traders assessed a rally that’s added more than $5 trillion to equities this year. The S&P 500 Index notched a fifth straight weekly advance and the Nasdaq Composite jumped above 9,000 for the first time. Treasuries rose, while oil rebounded from Friday’s lows as a government report showed U.S. crude inventories sank. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index added 4.5% so far in ... (full story)