NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Investors will look to earnings reports from retailers Gap and Nordstrom as well as a handful of technology companies to move the market Friday morning.

On the retail side, Gap Inc., the largest U.S. specialty apparel retailer, reported a slight decline in quarterly profit, meeting lowered forecasts, after summer clearance sales drew surprisingly small crowds.

The retailer said it earned $194 million, or 21 cents a share, in its fiscal second quarter ended July 31, down from $209 million, or 22 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts expected earnings of 21 cents a share, according to Reuters.

Shares of Gap (GPS: Research, Estimates) rose slightly in after-hours trading to $20.16.

Upscale department store chain Nordstrom Inc. said quarterly earnings jumped 62 percent as inventory and expense controls boosted profits.

The Seattle-based retailer said earnings for the fiscal second quarter ended July 31 rose to $106.9 million, or 75 cents per share from $65.9 million, or 48 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts, however, had been expecting Nordstrom to earn 77 cents per share, according to Reuters.

Shares in Nordstrom (JWN: Research, Estimates) dropped over 6 percent to $38 after the bell.

And rounding out the retail reporting, Foot Locker Inc. posted higher quarterly earnings helped in part a lower tax rate and improved sales.

The largest U.S. athletic footwear chain said income from continuing operations rose to $45 million, or 29 cents per share, for the second quarter ended July 31, from $37 million, or 25 cents per share, a year earlier. Analysts expected 29 cents a share, according to Reuters.

The news wasn't enough to motivate trading in Foot Locker (FL: Research, Estimates) after the bell.

In technology, Salesforce.com, which provides Web-based software that manages customers accounts, posted its first quarterly profit as a public company.

For its fiscal second-quarter ended July 31, net income was $1.2 million, or 1 cent a share, compared with a year-ago profit of $122,000, or break-even. The earnings are in line with Wall Street estimates.

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The company also raised its guidance for the year, but only to what Wall Street was already expecting.

Shares in Salesforce (CRM: Research, Estimates) shed over 3 percent in after-hours trading.

Autodesk Inc. reported a second-quarter profit 2 cents higher than a year earlier on strong demand for its business software that helps design things from toys to bridges.

Shares in Autodesk (ADSK: Research, Estimates) jumped almost 8 percent to 40.26 in after-hours trading.

And Sycamore Networks, Inc., a leader in optical networking, reported a net loss for the fourth quarter of $9.2 million or 3 cents per share, compared with a net loss of $9.7 million, or 4 cents per share for the fourth quarter 2003. The loss was 1 cent less per share than analysts had predicted, according to Reuters.

Shares in Sycamore (SCMR: Research, Estimates) rose almost 10 percent to $4.08 in after-hours trading.