Market Wrap: Coty Shoots for Avon, Misses; Groupon Trims Outlook; CTFC Looks into RBC Wash Sales

Market wrap-up for April 2nd

End of the Day: Dow Jones up 52.5 to 13,264.49; Nasdaq up 28.1 to 3,119.70; S&P 500 up 10.6 to 1,419.04

The following is a brief summary of events moving markets today:

• The scent of (near) success: Coty Inc., submitted a non-binding proposal to acquire Avon Products, Inc. (NYSE: AVP) for $23.25 per share in cash in a mutually agreeable and negotiated transaction.
  
  The proposal, valued at approximately $10 billion, represented a premium of 27 percent over the three month volume-weighted average price for Avon shares. Coty has held extensive discussions with its financing sources about obtaining the debt and equity financing necessary to complete this transaction, and is confident that such financing will be available.
  
  Avon subsequently rejected the initial offer.
  
  
• Deal of the Week: Groupon stock 17% Off!: Groupon (Nasdaq: GRPN) shares ended the session about 16.9 percent lower Monday following a late-Friday revision to its fourth-quarter and fiscal 2012 outlook. Fourth-quarter revs will drop by $14.3 million and operating income will be cut by about $30 million, leading to a 4 cent reduction in EPS.
  
  
• Let's dance: Illumina, Inc. (Nasdaq: ILMN) said its Board of Directors has, after careful review and consideration together with its financial and legal advisors, unanimously rejected Roche’s (OTC: RHHBY) revised offer to acquire Illumina for $51.00 per share in cash.
  
  
• Drier not included: Royal Bank of Canada (NYSE: RY) is being investigated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CTFC) over a possible futures trading scandal at Canada's largest bank. The trades being looked into by the CTFC will evaluate whether RBC was trading hundreds of millions of dollars in stock futures aimed at getting tax benefits.
  
  
• Manufacturing inspirado: The Institute of Supply Management's Manufacturing Purchasing Index rose 1 point to 53.4 in March from 52.4 in February. Of the total, the new orders index fell from 54.9 to 54.5 in March, while inventory index popped from 55.3 to 58.3.

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