Wall St. flat as earnings fail to excite investors

Microsoft was the biggest drag on all three major indexes. The S&P 500 has staged a sharp recovery from a steep selloff earlier this year and is inching toward its all-time high, helped by a recent rebound in oil, a cautious Federal Reserve and companies beating tempered expectations. "We're back to the every other day theory, bouncing around a little, but I don't see too strong a sentiment either way," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James in St. Petersburg, Florida.