#PreMarket Primer for November 26: McMillon Set To Take The Reins At Wal-Mart

Doug McMillon will replace Mike Duke as CEO of Wal-Mart following the holiday season on January 31, 2014.

McMillon, who currently heads up Wal-Mart's international division. He will take over at a time when the company is struggling to compete with other low cost retailers like Target and dollar stores; Wal-Mart's sales have fallen short of estimates for three consecutive quarters.

Top News

In other news around the markets:

• Protestors in Thailand have seized several government buildings, including the ministries of agriculture, tourism and transport. The protests are likely to spread, raising the possibility of violence as anti-government groups try to oust current Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra.

• The Bank of Japan's October meeting minutes showed that some of the bank's board members were pessimistic about the country's economic growth prospects and saw prices at the risk of declining. The minutes confirmed that the BOJ is worried about not meeting its inflation target.

• Angela Merkel and the Social Democratic Party are nearly ready to form the government's grand coalition with only a few issues left unresolved. On Tuesday, the two are hoping to complete a final round of talks and conclude by drawing up an agreement on Wednesday. The two are hopeful that Germany will have its coalition government before the Christmas holiday.

• Silvio Berlusconi is becoming increasingly desperate as a final vote that will likely expel him from Italian politics approaches. This week the Italian Senate will vote to determine whether or not he will be allowed to maintain his current seat as part of the nation's government. Berlusconi claims he has new evidence that would overturn his conviction for tax fraud, saying he was not guilty.

Asian Markets

Asian markets were mixed, the Japanese NIKKEI was down 0.67 percent and China's Shanghai composite fell 0.14 percent. The South Korean KOSPI gained 0.33 percent and Australia's ASX 200 was up 0.08 percent.

European Markets

Europe's markets were quiet, the UK's FTSE gained 0.30 percent and the eurozone's STOXX 600 was flat. Italy's MIB slipped, down 0.20 percent.

Commodities

Energy futures were mixed, Brent futures fell 0.11 percent and WTI futures were up 0.49 percent. Gold gained 0.93 percent and silver was up 1.32 percent industrial metals were down on the whole with aluminum posting the largest losses, down 0.42 percent.

Currencies

The euro gained some traction and was up 0.24 percent against the dollar while the pound to dollar ratio was mostly flat. The greenback lost 0.22 percent to the yen and 0.37 percent to the Australian dollar.

Earnings

Notable earnings released on Monday:

• Nuance Communications NUAN reported fourth quarter EPS of $0.30 on revenue of $472.20 million, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.51 on revenue of $490.09 million.

• Qihoo 360 Technology Co. Ltd. (NYSE: QIHU) reported third quarter EPS of $0.23 on revenue of $187.90 million, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.20 on revenue of $84.04 million.

Pre-Market Movers

Stocks moving in the Premarket included:

• Nike Inc. (NYSE: NKE) gained 0.33 percent in premarket trade after rising 0.70 percent over the past week.

• Hewlett-Packard HPQ rose 0.16 percent in premarket trade following a 1.28 percent rise over the past five days.

• Bank of America Corporation BAC rose 0.13 percent in premarket trade after jumping 5.97 percent over the past week.

• Carnival Corp CCL fell 2.07 percent in premarket trade after climbing 1.77 percent over the past week.

Earnings

Notable earnings expected on Tuesday include:

• Hewlett-Packard Company HPQ is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $1.00 on revenue of $27.87 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.16 on revenue of $29.96 billion.

• Hormel Foods Corporation HRL is expected to report fourth quarter EPS of $0.54 on revenue of $2.30 billion, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.49 on revenue of $2.17 billion.

• Tiffany & Co. TIF is expected to report third quarter EPS of $0.58 on revenue of $889.38 million, compared to last year’s EPS of $0.49 on revenue of $852.74 million.

• Cracker Barrel Old Country Store, Inc. CBRL is expected to report first quarter EPS of $1.15 on revenue of $646.25 million, compared to last year’s EPS of $1.08 on revenue of $627.45 million.

Economics

US data will dominate Tuesday's economic calendar with releases including oil and gasoline inventory data, consumer confidence, housing starts and building permits data. Investors will also be watching the Bank of England's Governor Mark Carney speak as well as waiting for South Africa's GDP figures.

For a recap of Monday’s market action click here

Tune into Benzinga’s pre-market info show with Dennis Dick and Joel Elconin here.