NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks headed for a flat to cautiously higher start Monday, as some better news in the tech and financial sectors acted to balance concerns over the growing cost of the war in Iraq.

Just before 8:30 a.m. ET, futures pointed to a flat start for the major indexes, which have advanced in recent weeks.

In his speech to the nation Sunday night, Bush said he'll ask for $87 billion to help support U.S. military efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan, telling Americans the fight against terrorists "will take time and require sacrifice." The war's cost is a factor in a rising budget deficit, leading to higher interest rates.

For details of Friday's pullback, click above

But techs and financials could give stocks a lift in the early minutes of trading.

Credit Suisse First Boston upgraded Dow 30 member IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates) to "outperform" from "neutral" ahead of the opening bell, saying it's an "ideal late-cycle tech-spending recovery play." Shares of IBM tipped higher in pre-market trading.

The financial sector also was in the spotlight. Merrill Lynch boosted its third-quarter earnings forecast for Goldman Sachs (GS: Research, Estimates) to $1.35 from $1.22 a share and for Lehman Brothers (LEH: Research, Estimates) to $1.32 from $1.23 a share. Shares of Goldman Sachs fell 20 cents, to $90.96, while Lehman slipped 23 cents, to $67.46, Friday.

Wal-Mart (WMT: Research, Estimates) also may get attention after saying it's on track to meet its forecasts for September but that the month likely won't be as strong as August. Sanford Bernstein cut its ratings on the top retailer and on Target (TGT: Research, Estimates) to "market perform" from "outperform," saying their prices already reflected the potential for better earnings. Shares of Wal-Mart dropped $1.19, to $58.89, while Target shares slid 74 cents, to $40.01, Friday.

The markets snapped a winning streak Friday after the Labor Department reported a surprising 93,000 decline in the number of jobs in August. That weakness could continue into Monday as investors wonder what it will take for the U.S. economy to again boost job creation as part of an overall recovery.

The Dow Jones industrial average starts the week at 9,503.34, after a 0.9 percent drop Friday. The Nasdaq composite index is at 1,858.24 following a 0.6 percent retreat (see chart for details). The Dow and the S&P 500 held near 15-month highs, while the Nasdaq fell just below its new 17-month high.

Treasury prices fell in early trading, sending the 10-year note yield up to 4.38 percent from 4.35 percent late Friday.

Asian-Pacific stocks ended mixed Monday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 0.3 percent. European markets were slightly higher in midday trading there. (Check the latest on world markets.)

The dollar was little changed against the euro and sank versus the yen.

Brent oil futures rose 5 cents, to $27 a barrel, in London, where gold weakened a bit in early trading.