NEW YORK, April 25 - Stocks clung to tepid gains at midday on Wednesday,struggling to snap a three-session losing streak, after media giant Walt Disney Co. toppedWall Street's earnings forecasts and U.S. home sales climbed to record rates. But optimism was tempered after a Wall Street house soured on top telecommunicationsgear makers, including Cisco Systems Inc. , Nortel Networks Corp. and JuniperNetworks Inc. pointing to poor capital spending. "The mood is confused and befuddled. We had a powerful Fed move and in the long term,that will help the market," said Don Ross, chief investment officer at National City Corp.,referring to last week's surprise interest-rate cut. "We think overall the market is forming abottom, but day to day it's just so volatile." The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up just 2 points, or 0.11 percent, to 2,018, afterrising more than 1 percent. Cisco, down 41 cents at $15.85, capped gains in the tech-richindex after UBS Warburg downgraded the telecom gear giant. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 33 points, or 0.32 percent, to 10,488. Disney,which beat earnings forecasts on strong results from its film and video units, helped lift theblue-chip measure with a $1.24 gain to $29.82. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 5 points, or 0.49 percent, to 1,215. "There is a thought out there that while there may be negative numbers andannouncements, much of that is built into the market and we are in an oversold condition,"said George Rodriguez, senior vice president at Guzman & Co. "But I don't think thecurrent rally is sustainable in the short term. Investors are moving cautiously and they willtake profits whenever there is an opportunity." Wall Street has been on a hunt for any sign the economy is picking up steam after the U.S.Federal Reserve slashed interest rates four times this year. Last week's cut triggered a rallyin the market, which hit new two-year lows just three weeks ago. The market, which had headed higher much of the month, fell in the past three tradingsessions as investors struggle to determine the outlook for the world's most powerfuleconomy. Wall Street got a boost after a realtors group said sales of existing U.S. homes rose totheir second-highest rate on record in March, helped by lower mortgage rates. The National Association of Realtors said U.S. March sales of existing homes rose 4.8percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.44 million units, well above Wall Street'sexpectations and the second-highest rate on record. The Commerce Department also reported Wednesday that U.S. March sales of newhomes rose 4.2 percent to a record annual rate of 1.021 million units. Dow component and home improvement retailer Home Depot Inc. , up 59 cents at$45.61, got a lift from the strong housing numbers. But even as home sales emphasized the resilience in the housing sector, durable goodsdata revealed persistent weakness in capital spending. Strong demand for transportation goods drove orders for costly durable items up inMarch, but all other product lines weakened in a sign of sluggish manufacturing, datashowed. UBS Warburg added pressure to the market by cutting its rating on telecom equipmentmakers, including Cisco; Nortel, which slipped 46 cents to $15.06; Juniper, which fell$3.47 to $53.53, and Ciena Corp., off $2.56 at $54.11. Amazon.com Inc. slipped 40 cents to $15.28. The online retailer posted a sharply lowerfirst-quarter loss -- in line with a recent announcement -- and affirmed it was on track forits first quarterly operating profit by the year's end. Newport News Shipbuilding Inc. jumped $8.30 to $63.35 after General Dynamics Corp.said it would buy the rival shipmaker for $2.1 billion in cash, creating the only U.S. builderof aircraft carriers and submarines for the U.S. Navy. General Dynamics lost $1.81 to$72.30. Tobacco giant Philip Morris Cos. Inc. jumped $2.02 to $49.97. An industry analyst saidthe Dow component may lead with a cigarette price increase on Friday.