no one in the world can time the market, maybe warren buffet. but not us, our best bets being young are to stay in and buy anytime the prices of shares go down for an extended period of time, if your not investment savvy, stick to mutual funds and exchange traded funds with low expenses and fees, if you want to invest in individual stocks, pick big established companies(GE, Coca Cola, Nestle) and start out with a 5-10% of your portfolio, as you learn more, you can invest more into individual stock, stay in for long term and every time the market goes down BUY MORE, you will have a fortune at retirement