My tip for novice traders (including myself), is to not enter the market at all right now. It is too unpredictable what will happen to the global economy. Everyone thought qe3 was going to make markets rally, but it didn't at all. Iron Ore prices are falling, Europe can't sort itself out, US Elections coming up....no one knows what's happening.
In a strange way, I would only invest in small stocks at the moment, as at least they are a bit more company specific. They generally won't get caught up in the macro economics of everything.
