NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Strong results from Internet bellwether Google are helping to give stocks a lift, although a new avalanche of earnings reports from Dow components Friday could put a damper on any rally.

Stock futures were lower at about 8 a.m., but a comparison to fair value, which predicts the direction of stocks at the open, still pointed to a higher open for the markets.

Stocks could be helped by the after-hours report Thursday from Google (Charts), which beat analyst estimates as profits nearly doubled. Shares of Google gained 7.5 percent in after-hours trading following the report.

Strong earnings from five Dow components Thursday morning helped lift the blue-chip index to a close above the 12,000 mark for the first time.

Results were more mixed Friday for three more Dow components. While conglomerate 3M (Charts) posted improved results that beat forecasts, heavy equipment maker Caterpillar (Charts) fell short of estimates despite its own earnings gain. And drugmaker Merck & Co. (Charts) was able to edge past forecasts, but its profits fell as it announced it is setting aside an additional $598 million for legal defenses of its painkiller Vioxx.

In other corporate news Chrysler Group will tap executives from Mercedes, another unit of DaimlerChrysler (Charts) to study restructuring moves, including a potential plant closing, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Oil is up after OPEC announced a 1.2 million barrel a day cut in production late Thursday. Oil prices rose Thursday in anticipation of that cut, but it wasn't enough to derail the stock rally.

U.S. light crude was up 27 cents to $58.77 a barrel in electronic trading, while Brent crude trading in London was 10 cents higher at $60.97.

Stocks in Asia closed mostly higher, while stocks in Europe were up in early trading. Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus Group (Charts) has agreed to an $8 billion takeover by India's Tata Steel Ltd, the companies said Friday.

Treasury prices were little changed, leaving the the yield on the 10-year note near the 4.78 percent level reached late Thursday. The dollar was higher against the euro and the yen. There are no economic reports due Friday.

Stocks' record run