New Delhi, Oct 31: The domestic benchmark indices started the session flat amid mixed global cues, as US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, agreed to ease the trade conflict for a year only.

The Sensex started the session at 84,379.79, down 25 points against the last session’s closing of 84,404.46. Nifty opened 14 points lower at 25,863.80. However, both the indices turned green in a while amid buying in automobile and banking heavyweights.

“The Trump-Xi summit delivered only a one-year truce in the US-China trade war, not a breakthrough trade deal. To that extent, market participants were disappointed at the outcome, even though there is relief in the declining trade tensions and possible movement towards further progress,” analysts said.

Among the Sensex stocks, NTPC, Tata Steel, Kotak Bank, Sun Pharma, and Bharti Airtel were trading lower in early trade, while Maruti Suzuki, TCS, BEL, Bajaj Finance, Titan, Tata Motors PV, L&T, and ITC were trading in positive territory.

Broader indices witnessed buying activities in the morning trade as Nifty Midcap 100 and Nifty Smallcap 100 were up around 0.4 per cent. Nifty 100 was also trading in green.

“The rally in the Indian market has been running out of steam as it approaches the record high of 26277 set in September 2024. Renewed selling by FIIs is likely to be a drag on the market in the near-term,” market watchers added.

Sectoral indices were trading high. Nifty Auto, Nifty IT, Bank Nifty, and Nifty FMCG were trading up to 0.6 per cent higher amid decent buying interest. Nifty Fin Services was also trading up.

“Given the heightened volatility and mixed global cues, traders are advised to maintain a cautious ‘buy-on-dips’ approach, particularly when using leverage. Booking partial profits during rallies and keeping tight trailing stop losses will be key for effective risk management. Fresh long positions should be considered only if the Nifty sustains above the 26,100 mark,” the analysts added.

Mumbai: Mumbai woke up to light to moderate showers and cloudy skies on Friday morning, following a night of intermittent rainfall across the city. Light to moderate showers were reported in South Mumbai areas such as Fort, Byculla, Lalbaug, along with Sion, Bandra, Kurla, Mulund and Andheri in the early hours of the morning today.

The IMD’s forecast for the day suggests partly cloudy skies with chances of moderate rain or thunderstorms. The maximum temperature is expected to reach 32°C, while the minimum may drop to around 25°C, keeping the weather comparatively pleasant. The unseasonal rain has not only cooled down the city but also led to a notable improvement in air quality, which had deteriorated over the past few weeks due to stagnant winds and increasing pollution levels.

Real-time data from AQI.in recorded Mumbai’s overall Air Quality Index (AQI) at 46 on Friday morning, placing it firmly in the “Good” category. This marks a sharp improvement from the “Unhealthy” levels recorded earlier this month, as rain showers helped wash away pollutants and clear suspended particles from the air. The result was visibly clearer skies, improved visibility, and a fresher atmosphere across the city.

Among monitoring locations, Kurla registered the highest AQI at 52, followed by Bandra West (50), Bandra-Kurla Complex (50), Colaba (50) and Borivali East (48), all remaining within the “Good” range. Several areas even reported exceptionally clean air, with Malad West topping the list at 40, followed by Deonar (41), Chakala (42), Kandivali East (42) and Chembur (43).

As per AQI.in’s classification, readings between 0–50 denote “Good” air, 51–100 “Moderate,” 101–150 “Poor,” 151–200 “Unhealthy,” and anything above 200 falls under “Severe” to “Hazardous.”

Mumbai: In an intense conversation with Former Mumbai Police Commissioner and ex-DGP of Maharashtra D. Sivanandhan, Media Journalist Balakrishnan spoke about the nexus between some policemen and the underworld.

In a startling revelation, the Media journalist revealed that during his visit to Dubai some years back, he went to Dawood Ibrahim’s patatial house called the ‘White house’, where the underworld don had received a phone call from Assistant Mumbai Commissioner allegedly seeking money for the gangster’s daughter’s wedding.

In an exclusive conversation, Media Balakrishnan said, “While I was talking to him, his PA came and told him that there is a call for you.”

The journalist said that Dawood winked and told him to keep quiet. While listening to their conversation on speaker, Media journalist heard, “Sir apka beti ka shadi toh apka yaad aya meko.”

Dawood responded by asking, “Kitna Chahye?”

On this, the Assistant Police Commissioner replied saying, “Jo apko lage, Apka beti ka shaadi hai.” Dawood then reportedly sent him Rs 10 lakh.

Speaking on the issue, Sivanandhan explained that not every officer in Maharashtra’s 2.5 lakh with 50000 in Mumbai is corrupt, but since they are recruited from society, some do fall into its darker influences.”We recruit them from the society, and the society comes along with all black, yellow, green colours.”

The conversation came in context about the nexus between some policemen and the underworld.

When ex-DGP of Maharashtra D. Sivanandhan was asked about the nexus between some policemen and the underworld, so much so that people used to talk about gang war within the police. On this, the ex-top cop defended, saying, “Tell me, from where do the policemen come? They come from the same society where the criminals are also coming.”

Further explaining, he also revealed, “In many of the cases where some shootout took place and when we went to raid the criminal’s house, we use to see a police uniform hanging. When we ask, the policeman’s sister was married to the gangster.”

“It’s a society where they live very, very closely,” the top cop confirmed. In another revelation, without sharing the identity, he also added, “There are also policemen working in gangs now.”

He added that, “So when policemen are accused of participating on behalf of some gang or other, I would wouldn’t deny that. I would agree. He added that the irresistable amount of money given to the gangster is unbelievable. Policemen are succumbing to that.”

The cop further raised questions on the government and said, “What was the guarantee or what was the support given by the government for policemen to insulate themselves from such kind of irresistable offers.” “When the policemen is prosecuted, not even a lawyer is given to them,” the ex-DGP said.