Louise Miller already has delayed her retirement to recover from the stock markets' nosedives, and she hopes Thursday's plunge of the markets won't require another change in plans.

"I think we're in a cycle that's going to take probably months" to turn around, said the 66-year-old Salt Lake City resident, who works in a bank's finance division. "My 401(k) plan with my work, I've lost money on that. It doesn't make me happy. But we'll just have to leave it in for the long haul."

Local financial advisers say Miller has the right idea.

As the Dow spiraled below 9,000 Thursday and the stock market's volatility index rose above 60 for the first time ever, experts say the best thing for the average investor to do is stay put — or buy.

"I love it when it's like this. This is like Christmas to me — Christmas in October," said Bruce A. Lefavi, best-selling author and founder of Lefavi Wealth Management in Salt Lake City.

Market drops can be a bargain-hunter's dream, he said. "I like buying bargains — it always pays off."

The financial crisis has brought the fall of banks and investment giants and tightened the availability of credit. Banks are nervous about lending to each other, making it tougher for consumers to borrow and small businesses to get short-term loans to make payroll, opening the potential for job losses.

The Federal Reserve and Treasury Department have taken bold action, including this week's interest-rate cuts from central banks here and abroad. But investors' confidence still has not been restored.

"What you're witnessing is: Emotion has taken over the markets," said Chris Neddo, relationship manager for Wells Capital Management in Salt Lake.

That might not change until new federal policies are put in place, and investors see that they will work. As for the average investor, current market conditions are "a gut check," he said.

"Every investor needs to look at their investment approach and determine if they have the right strategy. ... Then stick with it," he said. "It's rarely the case that reacting to emotion in a marketplace full of emotion is a successful strategy."

Bountiful resident Dan Dellenbach says he's in the market for the long haul and doesn't overly worry about fluctuations.

"I have a lot of faith in our economy, the structure in our economy," he said. "It's just that right now, it's having a little bit of a slump."

Riverdale resident Darin Fausett, who closely monitors his stocks' performance, also isn't panicking. "We'll see where it goes," he said.

Still, the market now gives many people the jitters.

"The last couple days, we've had several (customers) ... just calling for reassurance," said Sharla Jessop, vice president of Smedley Financial in Salt Lake. "I think across the board — in Utah, the U.S., the world — investors are really quite worried about what's going on."

She says even the aggressive investor's most diversified portfolios could be down 25 percent. Though astounding, it's a bad time to sell.

Jessop advises investors evaluate their tolerance for risk. If uncomfortable, they can review long-term goals. But if their strategy is solid, they should hold ride it out.

"There's never once been a bear-market cycle where the market didn't turn around," she said. "This is the perspective people need to keep."

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E-mail: jtcook@desnews.com