It meant three draws in eight days for West Ham and leaves them trailing in 5th place four points from the summit.
Andy Reid raced from the half way line past a slipping Hayden Mullins, who only signed on loan from Crystal Palace late in the morning, and hit a tremendous thirty yard shot into the top corner past a despairing David James.
West Ham tried to hit back and Michael Carrick was unlucky with a header that whistled just past the far post from Jermaine Defoe's pacey free kick.
Hutchison, Mulllins and Lee also had efforts, but West Ham were finding it hard to penetrate a Forest side that Alan Pardew says are in a false position.
There were more frustrations in the second half until Jermaine Defoe headed home an Etherington cross, though , alas, it did not prove to be the springboard for West Ham to gain the win.
If Daly's header from a Robert Lee cross had gone the right side of the post it could have done just that.
There were also close shaves for the vistors, when Ward had to be alert to prevent an own goal from Des Walker, following a cross from Ferdinand, who had come on for Lee.
Defoe was also unlucky when receivng from Don Hutchison, his shot was deflected onto the outside of the post, and Hutchison himself, who scored a spectacular equaliser against Burnley on Saturday, may have celebrated his recall to the starting line-up, had the sting not been taken out of his volley via a deflection late on in the game.
That said, Forest could and, perhaps, should, have had all three points, when, midway through the second half, Harewood supplied Reid only for him to shoot wastefully wide with David James already gone to ground.
Alan Pardew has said West Ham don't look so good when they are not in posession and so, once again, it proved to be the case.
Ironically, having drawn three on the trot at home, they now face three away games in a row and have not drawn any of their matches on the road all season.