Stocks flat but earnings may be turning higher

Stocks were flat on Friday.

Both the S&P 500 and STOXX Europe 600 were little changed while in Asia, the Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.2 percent but the Nikkei 225 fell 0.3 percent.

Microsoft broke above its record high hit during the technology boom in 1999 after reporting results on Thursday that beat analyst forecasts.

Indeed, Jack Caffrey of JPMorgan Private Bank told CNBC that after more than a year of back-to-back quarters of earnings declines for stocks, the picture is "finally turning higher" and that stocks will soon reap the benefits of earnings momentum.