NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Wall Street heavy-hitter General Electric could heat up trading action early Friday with sharply higher futures indicating a followthrough from the previous session advances despite a wobbly picture for techs.

General Electric's higher quarterly earnings lifted stock futures early Friday as the third-quarter report included a reiteration of the company's full-year profit forecast.

Around 8:45 a.m. ET, the Nasdaq-100 and the S&P 500 futures pointed to a bounce for stocks at the opening bell.

GE -- the conglomerate behind such things as light bulbs, jet engines and Conan O'Brien -- posted third-quarter profit of 41 cents a share, up from 33 cents a year earlier and in line with a consensus of analysts surveyed by First Call. It also reiterated its view that, in spite of a tough economy, it will match forecasts of $1.65 a share for the full year.

The company has been plagued all week by lowered analyst opinions; Merrill Lynch cut its rating to "neutral" from "buy" and cut its 2003 earnings estimate Thursday, while on Wednesday, Morgan Stanley cut its 2003 earnings-per-share forecast.

GE (GE: Research, Estimates) shares rose 64 cents to $23.24 in before-hours trading Friday.

Stock futures mostly brushed aside the morning's economic update on retail sales. September retail sales showed a stepper-than-expected decline of 1.2 percent, compared with a forecast for a 1.1 percent drop. Excluding autos, sales rose 0.1 percent, in line with expectations. The report came a day after chain stores reported dismal results for the month.

After trading begins, the University of Michigan's preliminary October report on consumer sentiment will become known. The index is projected to dip to 85.2 from 86.1 in September.

For details of Thursday's rally, click above

Another factor in the markets will be Congressional approval of a resolution authorizing President Bush to commit U.S. troops to enforce U.N. actions aimed at disarming Iraq. Both the House and Senate approved the measure by overwhelming margins. Concern that the United States will take military action to topple Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein has been a drag on U.S. stocks for the past two months.

The Dow Jones industrial average begins the day with a fighting chance to snap its six-week losing streak; it's up 5 points after Thursday's nearly 248-point rally. The Nasdaq composite index has an even better chance, standing 23 points higher for the week following a 49-point surge Thursday (see chart for Thursday's activity).

Asian-Pacific stocks ended higher Friday, with Tokyo's Nikkei index up 1 percent. Talk of a merger of two British media companies helped European markets opened higher.

Treasury prices fell in early trading, with the 10-year note yield at 3.70 percent. The dollar gained against the yen, but weakened versus the euro.

Brent oil futures rose 18 cents to $27.75 a barrel in London, where gold was unchanged.

Bad news continued to plague some well-know tech sector names Friday morning.

Telecom gearmakerLucent Technologies (LU: Research, Estimates) warned it sees its fourth-quarter loss per share "significantly larger" than previous estimates of 45 cents a share and also plans to cut 10,000 jobs in 2003. Lucent shares fell 3 cents to 67 cents in before-hours trading Friday. The company's shares fell below $1 last month, continuing a nearly three-year slide.

UBS Warburg cut its price target on No. 1 chipmakerIntel (INTC: up $0.26 to $14.44, Research, Estimates) to $18 from $26 on expectations of a slower recovery in personal computer demand. Intel shares fell 8 cents to $14.10 in before-hours trading Friday. Salomon Smith Barney chimed in, slashing its 2003 earnings estimate to 70 cents a share from 79 cents a share and trimming its 12-month price target on the stock to $20 from $25.

Meanwhile, network equipment maker Juniper Networks (JNPR: Research, Estimates) late Thursday reported a wider third-quarter loss that was in line with expectations. Credit Suisse First Boston cut its third-quarter estimates and also slashed its 12-month price target to $5 from $6.50. The company's shares fell 11 cents to $5.07 in after-hours trading.

Countering the trend, Lehman Brothers upgraded PC maker IBM (IBM: Research, Estimates) to "overweight" from "equal weight," saying it believes third-quarter results will come in-line with expectations and that "U.S. stability is offsetting most European weakness." The brokerage also indicated it expects information technology spending to improve slightly in 2003, led by the U.S. market. IBM shares gained $1.87 to $59.45 in before-hours trading Friday.

But Lehman Brothers downgraded Dow stock International Paper (IP: Research, Estimates) to "underweight" from "equal weight."

Credit Suisse First Boston upgraded Redback Networks (RBAK: Research, Estimates), the provider of networking systems, to "neutral" from "hold" and raised its fourth-quarter and 2003 estimates, citing the company's "surprisingly strong" guidance for its third quarter. Redback shares rose 5 cents to 32 cents in before-hours trading Friday.

The brokerage also upgraded defense stock Lockheed Martin (LMT: Research, Estimates) to "outperform" from "neutral," citing the company's strong earnings performance in the first half of 2002 and successes in its operational and financial turnaround. Lockheed Martin shares rose $2.87 to $60.88 Thursday.