Dow Jones industrial average slid 20.40 points, closing at 3727.91 . . . N.Y.S.E.'s composite index down 1.18 to 249.71 . . . NASDAQ stock-market composite index tumbled 7.79 to 711.53 . . . American Stock Exchange fell 0.90 to 433.00 . . . Gold down $1.50 to $385.60 on the Commodity Exchange in New York . . . The 30-year Treasury bond closed with a yield of 7.54 percent, up from 7.46 late Tuesday.