Most of us here prefer to try to stay with the market trend in one way or another.  The main difference between most of us is the time frame that we trade in to the strategies that we use to try to capture profits.  So in that sense most of us here would prefer not to be in stocks when they are moving down unless we are shorting them or playing short counter-trend moves.  

Personally, I would not like to be in dividend stocks, defensive stocks or growth stocks in a bear market.  If you are a new investor my advice is to watch Matt's long term and other signals and go to cash when we are in downtrends.  It's not exciting but not losing money is the most important rule of investing.  Making it is secondary only after you don't lose it.

Making 1/2 percent on your money is always better than losing 20%.  Besides your money buys a lot more stocks  at the bottom of a bear market.  But in the mean time protect it.

For now, start learning.  You're at the right place.

john

In terms of value and price, the great buy and sell points have been more or less together throughout history. Charles Dow didn't want to own stocks when index yields were under 3% and did want to buy over with index yields over 6%. Looking at yields at major market highs and lows shows the wisdom of such an approach (2009 would have had you cautious on this metric alone, but maybe it wasn't a majorlow).

If you're talking about defensive sector rotation from high beta to healthcare, staples utilities, for instance, that tends to be a leading indicator of when to sell everything and it started in March/April this year.