Why did Nifty post a 2nd weekly loss in a row? What should you do now?

Stock market this week India

The market remained volatile this week, and both major indices' returns were flat. However, small-cap and mid-cap spaces saw interest from the investors, and both outperformed their larger peers this week.

Indian stock market this week: Nifty movement this week

The Indian stock market ended in red on Monday following the weak global cues after US Federal Reserve Chairman's hawkish commentary during Jackson Hole Symposium 2022. The top drag for the day was the IT sector which fell more than 3%.

The equity market made a strong comeback on Tuesday as broader indices gained over 2.5%. The rally was led by banking and financial services stocks. The continued support from foreign investors aided the market to inch higher.

The stock market remained closed on Wednesday on account of Ganesh Chaturthi.  

The equity market ended lower by more than a percent on Thursday amid weak global cues. August month auto sales numbers have started coming, and auto shares were in focus. Goldman cuts India's growth forecast, while Morgan Stanley sees downside risks.

The market ended the volatile day flat on Friday after fluctuating between gains and losses in the trading window. There was selling pressure ahead of the release of US job data.

Market this week India: Top Nifty gainers and losers
 

Indian stock markets this week: Key highlights 

GDP Numbers: India's economy grew by 13.5% in April-June. It is the fastest in the last four quarters. The growth was led by a better performance by the agriculture and services sectors. India remained the fastest growing major economy as China registered economic growth of 0.4% in the June quarter. However, June quarter growth is less than the RBI's projection of 16.2% released earlier this month.

GST collection: The gross GST revenue collected for August 2022 jumped 28% year on year. August GST collections came in at Rs 1.44 lakh crore, of which CGST is Rs 24,710 crore, SGST is Rs 30,951 crore, and IGST is Rs 77,782 crore. For six months in a row now, the monthly GST revenues have been more than the Rs 1.4 lakh crore mark. 

India's oil import from Russia: As per the latest data available, India's imports of Russian crude oil fell by a quarter in the past two months, along with a decline in overall crude imports. India imported 738,024 barrels per day of Russian crude oil in August, 18% lower than in July and 24.5% less than in June.

Reliance AGM: Jio 5G will be the world's largest and most advanced 5G network as Jio plans to deploy the latest version of 5G called Stand-Alone 5G. By this year's Diwali, Jio will launch 5G across multiple key cities. Reliance has announced an exciting partnership with Qualcomm. The company will also enter into the FMCG business. For more details check our article here.

Market this week India: Top sectoral gainers and losers

Stock market India: What should you do now?

• The markets are expected to remain choppy in the near-term. Hence, it is advised to sit on the sidelines and wait for a better entry point.
• Invest in equities in a staggered way. Avoid lump sum deployments.
• Keep your SIP’s running. Stick to large caps and index stocks that are best suited to navigate the ongoing volatility. Check out Mutual Fund SIPs. 
• In case of debt investments, invest only high-quality AAA-rated bonds as they have the least risk.
• Given their lower sensitivity to interest rate changes, shorter duration funds are expected to outperform longer duration funds in the current scenario.