Markets take note of advance tax numbers

If you did not get a call, SMS or e-mail containing the latest advance tax figures, you have not arrived as an equity market investor.

Though the equity market had a nervous ring to it on Wednesday as investors booked profits at higher levels, the market was abuzz with talks of the financial performance of some heavyweight corporates, based on their advance tax pay-outs.

Typically, just after the last date for paying advance tax for companies (March 15), figures have started floating in as brokers and fund managers try their hand at estimating company's performance based on these figures.

According to figures floating in the market, M&M is said to have paid an advance tax of Rs 55 crore as against Rs 40 crore in the corresponding quarter last year, HDFC is said to have paid Rs 60 crore (Rs 50 crore), Tata Motors paid Rs 75 crore (Rs 27 crore), HDFC Bank paid Rs 60 crore (Rs 44 crore), Reliance Industries is said to have paid Rs 156 crore (Rs 95 crore), ACC paid Rs 22 crore (Rs 9 crore), SBI paid Rs 558 crore (Rs 680 crore), L&T paid Rs 25 crore (Rs 55 crore), Grasim paid Rs 135 crore (Rs 105 crore), HPCL put in Rs 62 crore (Rs 276 crore), Gujarat Ambuja paid Rs 10 crore (Rs 10 crore), HLL paid Rs 35 crore (Rs 85 crore) and ICICI Bank is said to have paid Rs 75 crore (Rs 50 crore).

Brokers said that though the long term view on most big companies does not change because of the advance tax they pay, these figures indicate their performances and help investors take an immediate call. Day-traders make the most of these figures as they try and ride the intra-day reactions in the prices.

A fund manager added that advance tax figures help in taking a call on the performance of a company and are helpful to that extent but going by the buzz in the market on Wednesday, it definitely sounded as if the companies had already declared their results.