* Consumer confidence worse than expected, home prices dip
* Apple slides at open, then cuts losses
* Walgreen jumps after earnings
* Dow up 0.4 pct, S&P up 0.3 pct, Nasdaq up 0.1 pct (Updates to midday, changes byline)
By Rodrigo Campos
NEW YORK, Sept 28 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks edged higher on Tuesday after weak consumer confidence figures, with investors saying the data bolsters expectations the Fed will pump more money into the economy, which would support equities.
The S&P 500 has risen 9 percent so far in September, making it one of the best months for the index in 20 years.
"Currently the bullish case (for stocks) is a 'win-win,'" said Joseph Battipaglia, market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus in Yardley, Pennsylvania.
"If the economy is good, that's good for stocks. If the economy is bad, it's good for stocks because the Fed is going to quantitatively ease."
Although he said the bullish case is "common knowledge," Battipaglia said he did not subscribe to it.
U.S. Treasury debt prices also rose as the weaker-than expected data added to expectations that the Federal Reserve will give the economy more support.
But the rally in bonds could be a bubble, Byron Wien, the vice chairman of Blackstone Advisory Partners, told Reuters Insider. He sees stocks moving higher, with little chance of another recession.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 38.49 points, or 0.36 percent, to 10,850.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index rose 3.21 points, or 0.28 percent, to 1,145.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index edged up 3.17 points, or 0.13 percent, to 2,372.95.
Walgreen Co, the biggest U.S. drugstore chain, reported higher-than-expected quarterly earnings, helped by strong prescription drug sales. Its shares jumped 11.2 percent to $33.76.
Continuing the spurt of recent M&A activity, Endo Pharmaceuticals Holdings Inc will buy private generics maker Qualitest Pharmaceuticals for about $1.2 billion, marking its second deal in as many months. The stock advanced 8.7 percent to $33.26.
September data showed U.S. consumer confidence fell to its lowest level since February, underscoring lingering worries about the strength of the economic recovery, while home prices dipped in July.
Shares of Apple Inc dropped as much as 5.6 percent in early trading as rumors swirled that the company's No. 2 executive would join Hewlett-Packard.
Representatives from Apple and Hewlett-Packard declined to comment, and analysts quickly dismissed the rumor.
Apple shares slid 2.1 percent to $285.13 and HP rose 0.8 percent to $41.58. (Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Jan Paschal)