NEW YORK, April 24 - Stocks were flat to slightly up in early afternoon trading onTuesday as investors, fearful of missing the next big market rally, went bargain-hunting despitedownbeat earnings from computer giant Compaq Computer Corp. and others. Investors are hoping the economy will pick up after the Federal Reserve lowered interest rates fourtimes this year. Stocks rallied this month on mounting hopes the market, badly beaten over the lastyear, already reflects bleak corporate earnings growth. But a tumble in a key barometer of consumer confidence and a procession of dour earnings from techbellwethers kept optimism in check. "We had a tremendous correction in stock prices on Nasdaq ... and we have the Fed looseningmonetary policy so some people see a recovery that might happen in the second half of this year,"said Tom Maguire, portfolio manager for the Safeco Growth Opportunities Fund. "They try to pick their spots," added Maguire, whose fund manages $637 million. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index rose 8.46 points, or 0.41 percent, to 2,067.78, after beingin negative territory earlier and then rising almost 2 percent. JDS Uniphase Corp. , down $2.73 at$21.45, was the most heavily traded stock in the index after the fiber optics parts maker reporteddisappointing financial results. The blue-chip Dow Jones industrial average rose 26.87 points, or 0.26 percent, to 10,559.10 butthe broad market gauge, Standard & Poor's 500 Index , was basically flat, off 0.61 of a point, or0.05 percent, at 1,223.75. Oracle Corp. helped the Nasdaq with a gain of 3 percent after the world's second-largest softwaremaker said its board authorized the repurchase of as much as $3 billion more of its stock in anexpansion of its buyback plan. Oracle was up 53 cents at $17.68 in active trade. Investors took thedrop in a key gauge in consumer confidence in April in stride, betting the Fed's rate cuts this year willspark a turnaround soon. Deteriorating business conditions and fears about job security haddampened a more upbeat mood which prevailed in March, the Conference Board's ConsumerConfidence Index showed. "Consumer confidence was weaker than expected," said Barry Berman, managing director of equitytrading at Robert W. Baird & Co. "But it may give the Fed more reason to cut rates at the next(policy-setting) meeting." Compaq fell $2.71 to $17.94, or more than 13 percent on the New York Stock Exchange. Thecomputer giant posted lower profits as it battled soft sales and price cuts by rivals such as DellComputer Corp. , which usurped Compaq as the No. 1 PC maker during the quarter. The S&P computer hardware gauge was off 2.09 percent, reflecting losses in Compaq and rivals.But other indices rose including ones tracking computer software companies, telecom equipmentmakers and semiconductors. International Business Machines Corp. rose $1.72 to $113.72. The Dow component and computerheavyweight declared its sixth dividend increase in five years and authorized up to $3.5 billion inadditional stock buybacks. Telephone and cable television giant AT&T Corp. nosed up 52 cents to $22.50. The Dowcomponent posted a loss on stiff competition and weak prices, and warned its second-quarterearnings will be below current expectations. Another Dow company, DuPont Co. , the No. 1 U.S. chemical company, said earnings fell sharplybecause of a slowing economy, high raw material costs, and poor results from its drugs units. Itsshares, however, rose 57 cents to $44.70. Struggling telecommunications equipment giant Lucent Technologies Inc. added $1.25 to $10.45.The company said its results dropped due to a slowdown in customer spending and the company'srestructuring. Brokerage Salomon Smith Barney, however, raised its investment rating on thecompany.