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Mumbai: Investors looking for a low-cost, low-risk parking ground with easy liquidity have an alternative to short-term bank deposits. A clutch of mutual funds, including Axis, Birla, HDFC, ICICI and Bandhan, are offering constant maturity index funds tracking the CRISIL-IBX Financial Services 3-6 Month Debt Index.The open-ended product invests in short-term debt instruments, including bonds and money-market securities issued by banks, NBFCs and other financial institutions. "This fund is tailored for investors seeking a low-risk, cost-effective and short-term investment avenue. It is particularly suitable for conservative investors, corporate treasuries, and high-net-worth individuals looking to park surplus funds for 3-6 months," says Aditya Pagaria, senior fund manager, Axis Mutual Fund.124102147With indicative yields of 6-6.4%, these products offer as much as 200 basis points more than the 4.25% typically earned on 3-6-month bank deposits. Moreover, it's a liquid product without any lock-in.These schemes follow a 'roll-down' strategy: the fund manager buys 6-month securities, holds them until their maturity comes down to 3 months, and then rebalances by selling and reinvesting in fresh 6-month papers. By staying in the 3-6-month bucket, the funds keep duration risk low and volatility minimal. Fund houses say apart from being a short-term parking ground, savvy investors are also using these products to stagger their entry into equities or as a temporary parking spot while waiting for a market correction."While investors have been using this scheme to park short-term money, increasingly there is also interest from investors looking at this fund to stagger their investments into equity through Systematic Investment Plan (SIPs) or systematic transfer plans (STPs)," says Sirshendu Basu, head - Products, Bandhan Mutual Fund.

Mumbai: Domestic equity indices extended losses for a fourth straight session on Wednesday as uncertainty over the US's economic actions against India kept investors on edge.NSE Nifty fell 112 points, or 0.45%, to close at 25,056, while the BSE Sensex dropped 386 points, or 0.5%, to 81,715. Both benchmarks have lost 1.4% and 1.6%, respectively, over the past four sessions."In the last few days, we've seen the H-1B visa announcement dampen sentiment in the markets. While our estimate is that tier-1 companies will take only a 1-2% hit on their profits, the sentiment has soured due to which we are seeing some profit taking," said Pankaj Pandey, head of fundamental research at ICICI Direct.Earlier this week, Donald Trump announced a levy of $100,000, or ₹88 lakh, on new H-1B visa applications, a move expected to impact Indian information technology companies. Foreign portfolio investors net sold shares worth ₹2,425.7 crore, while domestic institutions were buyers worth ₹1,211.7 crore."The Nifty rallied from 24,400 to 25,400 in just three weeks without a pullback, after the announcement of strong GDP numbers as well as a GST cut, pushing momentum indicators into overbought territory," said Ruchit Jain, vice-president at Motilal Oswal Financial Services. "This has now triggered a short-term correction within the broader uptrend."Jain said market dips offer buying opportunities for positional traders and investors.He added that Nifty will see support at 24,500-24,800 levels and resistance near 25,500, with the index likely to remain range-bound in the near term.Nifty's Volatility Index, or VIX, known as the market's fear gauge, fell 1% to 10.52 on Wednesday.The broader market too extended declines, with the Nifty Midcap 150 down 0.9% and the Nifty Small-cap 250 lower by 0.6%. Out of 4,320 stocks traded on BSE, 1,540 advanced and 2,651 declined.Elsewhere in Asia, Japan rose 0.3%, China gained 0.8% and Hong Kong jumped 1.4%, while South Korea slipped 0.4% and Taiwan lost 0.2%. The pan-European Stoxx 600 index was down 0.3% at the time of going to print.

GENEVA: Generic versions of a groundbreaking injectable HIV-prevention drug will be available for $40 a year in over 100 countries starting in 2027, Unitaid and the Gates Foundation announced Wednesday.The two organizations have signed separate agreements with Indian pharmaceutical companies to produce cheaper generics of lenacapavir - a twice-yearly injection shown to reduce the risk of HIV transmission by more than 99.9% - for low- and middle-income countries.Currently marketed in the U.S. as Yeztugo by California-based Gilead Sciences, lenacapavir costs around $28,000 a year.Far cheaper generic versions are therefore "critical for scaling up HIV prevention," said Carmen Perez Casas, Unitaid's strategic lead for HIV. "Now, with this product, we can end HIV."In October 2024, Gilead signed licensing deals with six generic drugmakers to produce and sell the world's first long-acting pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in poorer countries.Unitaid said Wednesday that a partnership with Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, the Clinton Health Access Initiative (CHAI), and Wits RHI will provide the drug at $40 per person annually across 120 countries starting in 2027."The product will initially be manufactured in India," Perez Casas said. "But we are also working toward regional production in the future."The Gates Foundation also announced a similar partnership with Indian pharmaceutical company Hetero.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday reviewed eight critical infrastructure projects across 15 states with a cumulative investment of Rs 65,000 crore with an emphasis on clear timelines and prompt resolution of bottlenecks.The projects reviewed during the 49th meeting of Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation (PRAGATI) platform spanned across sectors including mines, railways, water resources, and power.The prime minister urged officials at both the Central and state levels to adopt a result-oriented approach, translating opportunities into improved quality of life for people, while also advancing the goals of ease of living for citizens and ease of doing business for enterprises, an official statement said. Modi said delays in execution impose a double cost - often escalating project expenditure and also depriving citizens of timely access to essential services and infrastructure.He emphasized that states/UTs should also institutionalize mechanisms at their level for regular review and monitoring of flagship projects, ensuring timely implementation and effective resolution of bottlenecks.The prime minister urged all states/UTs to place strong emphasis on reforms aimed at improving competitiveness, strengthening efficiency, and fostering innovation across sectors, and stressed that better preparedness through these reforms would enable us to swiftly seize emerging opportunities.The ICT-enabled multi-modal PRAGATI platform brings together the Centre and states to fast-track major projects, address bottlenecks, and ensure time-bound delivery.

Promoters of wires and cable company Polycab India will likely offload up to 0.81% stake in the company via block deals on Thursday. The floor price has likely been set at Rs 7,300 per share taking the deal size to Rs 887.6 crore. The floor price is likely set at a discount of 3.1%, a CNBC-TV18 report said.Meanwhile, NDTV Profit reported that Inder T. Jaisinghani, Ajay T. Jaisinghani, Ramesh T. Jaisinghani, Girdhari Thakurdas Jaisinghani, Bharat Jaisinghani, Nikhil Ramesh Jaisinghani, and Anil Hariram Hariani will sell shares.Polycab shares today ended at Rs 7,529 on the NSE, falling by Rs 91 or 1.19% over the Tuesday closing price. It was its second successive loss following a fresh 52 week high of Rs 7,714 it hit on Monday.Polycab shares have delivered 14% returns over a 1-year period while rising over 2% so far in 2025. The multibagger stocks 3-year returns are in excess of 190%.The stock is currently trading above its 50-day and 200-day simple moving averages of Rs 7,083 and Rs 6,293, respectively, according to Trendlyne.The stock has traded with high volatility with a 1-year beta of 1.1, Trendlyne data revealed.The company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 592 crore in the June ended quarter, which was a 49% year-on-year growth. Total revenue in the reported quarter stood at Rs 5,986 crore, which was a 26% YoY growth.Also Read: Akzo Nobel India block deals: Promoter offloads Rs 765 crore stake; Nippon, Goldman, Citi among buyers(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of Economic Times)