STOCKS ended slightly lower yesterday after several sharp swings as a wave of profit taking wiped out another push to record levels amid solid earnings reports from IBM and several large oil companies.

On Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 3.36 points to close at 6,090.87 - rebounding late in the volatile session from a 34 point loss. Earlier, the blue chip barometer surrendered a nearly 40 point jump that put the Dow above 6,100 just a week after its first close above 6,000.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by an 11 to 9 margin on the New York Stock Exchange, with 1,098 up, 1,339 down and 837 unchanged.

NYSE volume totalled 414.62 million shares against 467.94 million in the previous session. The Standard and Poor's 500 stock index fell 0.97 to 709.85, and the NYSE's composite index fell 0.40 to 377.92.

The Nasdaq composite index fell 6.08 to 1,236.40.