Stocks edged lower in New York yesterday as the sluggish, indecisive tone of recent months quickly returned to the market after this week's huge gyrations.

The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 0.73 to 1,106.37 after surging 19 points on Wednesday, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 3.69 to 1,772.71 after tacking on 60 points over the prior two sessions.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by a 7-to-4 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,078 up, 1,900 down and 545 unchanged.

NYSE volume totalled 589.64 million shares, down sharply from Wednesday's hectic pace of 721.10 million.

The NYSE composite index fell 1.16 to 567.49, and the American Stock Exchange composite index fell 3.93 to 691.34.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 4.30 closing at 439.78.