At 13:30 GMT, the US economy released its reading of the weekly unemployment claims for the week ending November 14 at 0.742 million, worse than forecasts of 0.707 million, and worse than the previous reading of 0.711 million after it was revised from 0.709 million. This data is negative for the US economy.

The US dollar rose on Thursday, heading for its first gain in the last 6 days, within recovery attempts from the lowest level in a week, due to growing concerns about the US economy's recovery from the coronavirus crisis, especially after warnings from US monetary policymakers about the recovery of the US economy, and ahead of the release of key US data on the weekly unemployment claims, and Philadelphia's manufacturing activity index for November.

 The dollar index rose 0.2% to 92.72 points, after opening at 92.56 points, and hitting an intraday low of 92.43 points.

The index lost more than 0.1% yesterday and posted the fifth straight daily loss.

The second wave of Covid-19 continues to spread broadly across Europe and the US, with infections rising to new record levels, which led governments to reimpose lockdowns.

Head of the Federal Reserve in New York, John Williams, said on Wednesday "We are still in a severe recession", adding that the US economic recovery is vulnerable to swings in coronavirus infections, and stressed that the central bank is going to use all of its tools to help the economy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that the economy a long way to go to fully recover, and stressed that the Fed is committed to using all its tools to support the recovery when needed.

As of 13:30 GMT, the US unemployment claims for the week ending November 14 are expected to reach 0.707 million from 0.709 million the previous week.

The Philly Fed manufacturing index is expected to reach 22.0 in November, from 32.3 in October.

European stocks fell in morning trading on Thursday, on profit-taking from a 9-month high, in addition to renewed concerns about the increase in lockdowns the rapid spread of the coronavirus second wave, which offset the positive news about Covid-19 vaccines.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index fell 0.8% as of 11:25 GMT, after it closed higher by 0.6% yesterday and hit the highest since February at 390.54 points.

The American giant "Pfizer" and the German firm "BioNTech" announced on Wednesday that the recent data from the final phase of the clinical trials on their Covid-19 vaccine showed it was 95% effective.

The pan European index opened lower today, giving up its 9-month high on profit-taking, with most of the major European markets and sectors seeing green.

The energy sector saw the largest losses in Europe today, dropping more than 1.75%, as oil prices fell.

The second wave of Covid-19 continues to spread broadly across Europe and the US, with infections rising to new record levels, which led governments to reimpose lockdowns.

S&P 500 futures fell 0.4%, after the index closed lower by 1.2% yesterday, in the second straight daily loss.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index fell 1%, France's CAC 40 fell 0.9%, Germany's DAX fell 1.1%, and the UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.9%.

Gold prices fell on Thursday, deepening losses for the third straight day, and hit a 10-day low due to weak safe-haven demand and a recovery in the US dollar.

Gold fell 0.9% to the lowest since November 9 at $1,855.11, after opening at $1,872.80, and hit an intraday high at $1,873.90.

The yellow metal closed lower by more than 0.4% yesterday, due to positive news about promising Covid-19 vaccine candidates.

The American pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and the German firm BioNTech announced on Wednesday that their Covid-19 vaccine was more than 95% effective, according to recent data from the final phase of the clinical trials.

The US dollar rose 0.5% today, heading for its first gain in the last 6 days, which weighs down on the prices of gold and other dollar-denominated metals.

The greenback currently shines as the best alternative investment in the market due to growing concerns about the US economy's recovery from the coronavirus crisis, especially after warnings from US monetary policymakers.

Head of the Federal Reserve in New York, John Williams, said on Wednesday "We are still in a severe recession", adding that the US economic recovery is vulnerable to swings in coronavirus infections, and stressed that the central bank is going to use all of its tools to help the economy.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Tuesday that the economy a long way to go to fully recover, and stressed that the Fed is committed to using all its tools to support the recovery when needed.

Gold stocks at the SPDR ETF fell 7.3 metric tonnes yesterday, with the total at the lowest level since July 20 at 1,219.00 metric tonnes.