US stock futures creep up after General Electric, Google and other big companies post results

U.S. stock futures are creeping up Friday as General Electric, Google and other big companies report quarterly results.

KEEPING SCORE: Dow Jones industrial average futures rose nine points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,950 as of 8:31 a.m. Eastern time. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures rose three points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,956. Nasdaq 100 futures added 12 points, or 0.3 percent, to 3,888.

Global events knocked stock markets down on Thursday. A Malaysia Airlines passenger plane was shot down over Ukraine and Israel launched an invasion into Gaza. The S&P 500 index sank 1.2 percent, its biggest one-day drop since April.

GOOGLE IT: The Internet giant Google reported higher quarterly earnings and revenue late Thursday. Revenue rose 22 percent even as advertising rates continue to drop. Although Google still makes most of its money from Internet searches, the company is generating more revenue from other sources such as YouTube and its "Play" store that sells applications for devices running its Android software. Google's stock added $16.53, or 2.8 percent, to an even $590 in premarket trading.

GEE: General Electric said Friday that its quarterly profit rose 13 percent thanks to strong performance from its aviation and oil and gas divisions. Orders, especially those from developing countries, were strong. GE also said that its plan to spin off its credit card business with an initial public offering is targeted for late July. The IPO will value the company, named Synchrony Financial, at $20.7 billion. Shares in GE rose 17 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $26.78.

EUROPE: Most major stock markets headed lower Friday. Germany's DAX slipped 0.6 percent while France's CAC-40 dipped 0.3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 was off 0.4 percent.

BONDS AND OIL: In the market for U.S. Treasurys, the yield on the 10-year note inched up to 2.47 percent from 2.45 percent late Thursday. Benchmark U.S. crude oil edged up 15 cents to $103.34 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.