U.S. stock index futures edged lower on Friday after Google earnings failed to meet lofty expectations, but strong results from GE and Bank of America stemmed declines.

Google Inc , the Internet search giant, reported a 23 percent jump in quarterly revenue on a rebound in Web advertising, but the stock shed 4.8 percent to $567 in premarket trading as the results disappointed some investors who looked for blowout results.

General Electric Co advanced 1.5 percent to $19.80 after reporting a profit that was sharply higher than Wall Street estimated and said it sees potential upside to its earlier full-year forecast.

GE is like a mini corporate America when you think of all the things that they touch. When you can get this sort of nice clean report, it's a pretty good signal that earnings season should be better than expected this first quarter, said Arthur Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co in Boston.

Bank of America Corp added about 1 percent to $19.75 premarket after the largest U.S. bank by assets reported higher-than-expected first-quarter earnings, as five of the company's six major business units were profitable in the period.

The events today that are going to drive the market are earnings, earnings and then there are earnings, said Kim Caughey, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh.

S&P 500 futures shed 2.5 points and were below fair value, a formula that evaluates pricing by taking into account interest rates, dividends and time to expiration on the contract. Dow Jones industrial average futures lost 15 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures dropped 5.25 points.

Mattel Inc gained 3.2 percent to $24.50 in light trade after the No. 1 toymaker surprised Wall Street with a quarterly profit versus a year-ago loss on strong demand in both its classic and newer products.

Phase Forward Inc

soared 29.2 percent to $16.90 after the maker of drug data management software agreed to be acquired by Oracle Corp for about $685 million, or $17 a share. Oracle shed 0.4 percent to $26.10 premarket.

Continental Airlines Inc has restarted merger talks with United Airlines parent UAL Corp two years after nearly sealing a deal, according to a source.

Economic data scheduled for Friday include March housing starts and University of Michigan sentiment data for April.

European stocks ticked higher as industrials gained after strong results from SKF , the world's biggest bearings maker, though miners fell on weak gold prices.

Asian stocks pulled back from 22-month highs and higher-yielding currencies fell as investors booked profits after risky assets ran up in recent sessions on the strength of solid economic data.

U.S. stocks posted a sixth straight day of gains on Thursday as an encouraging profit forecast from United Parcel Service Inc lifted transportation shares, though concerns about a rise in weekly jobless claims limited the advance.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; additional reporting by Edward Krudy; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

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