Trading is expected to be positive after news that Pakistani troops have surrounded Osama bin Laden’s top deputy, Ayman al-Zawahri, near the Afghan border.

There are no major economic releases due out today, however, Statistics Canada is reporting some good news for the pension fund sector. In the third quarter, trusteed pension funds had a positive cash flow for the second consecutive quarter, putting them well on the road to recovery after a period of losses, says StasCan.

At the end of the third quarter, the total value of fund assets was estimated at $584.2 billion, up 3.1% from the second quarter. The cash flow in the second quarter of 2003 was about $4.3 billion. These two quarters of positive cash flows were preceded by three quarters of losses.

In Europe, the indexes are mixed in early trading. In Frankfurt, the Xetra DAX is 0.1% higher, to 3,829.19. In Paris, the CAC40 Index has gained 16.54 points, or 0.5%, to 3,606.52. In London, the FTSE100 Share Index is up 18.10 points, or 0.4%, to 4,416.00.

Asian markets dropped during Friday training. In Tokyo, the Nikkei Stock Average fell 65.77 points, or 0.57%, to 11,418.51. Hong Kong stocks ended slightly lower following Thursday’s declines on Wall Street. The blue-chip Hang Seng Index slipped 25.61 points, or 0.19%, to 12,790.58.

On Thursday, profit-takers brought a two-day rally North American rally to a halt. Toronto’s S&P/TSX composite index closed 45.82 points lower to 8,555.9. The market was dragged down by the telecom sector, adversely affected by an announcement from Manitoba Telecom Service that it has agreed to pay $1.7 billion in cash and stock for Allstream.

Manitoba Telecom stock tumbled $5.30 to $48, partly because the deal appears to have ended thoughts of converting to an income trust. BCE, which owns about 22 per cent of MTS, lost 31¢ to $28.24, but Allstream jumped $5.25 to $74.85.

New York’s Dow industrial average slid 4.52 points to 10,295.78. The Nasdaq composite index fell 14.32 points to 1,962.44 while the S&P 500 index dropped 1.43 at 1,122.32.