1.   And one sign of their sophistication is how market dips are used as buying opportunities.

2.   But not everybody was willing to buy on this particular market dip.

3.   Except, perhaps, for buying shares during market dips.

4.   Large companies such as consumer-products maker Gillette Co. and soft-drink giant Coca-Cola Co. have been hit in the recent market dip.

5.   The big number of new highs this year, and the paucity of market dips, is indicative of the confidence that many investors feel.

6.   The remainder are long-term bulls who are looking for opportunities to buy at market dips.

7.   Declines in the price of Thyseen Krupp, the German steelmaker and French telecommunications equipment supplier Alcatel, also contributed to the overall European market dip.

8.   Jim Thompson, a Scudder Investments executive who works with the AARP Investment Program, said many older investors are willing to ride out market dips.

9.   Some investors said Wednesday they have learned to take in stride the media cacophony that inevitably follows a large market dip or upswing.

10.   The Madrid bourse also eased, following other European stock markets and a bond market dip.