Palladium prices fell on Thursday, as the US dollar rose against its peers, which weighs down on industrial metals in addition to political tensions in the US.

Thousands of Trump supporters yesterday stormed the US Capitol building to protest the session that declared Joe Biden the new President of the United States.

Investors are optimistic about the Democrats' control of both houses of Congress and the presidency, as they intend massive stimulus packages to bolster the economy, which would lift demand for industrial metals such as copper and palladium. 

The dollar index rose against a basket of major currencies by 0.3% to 89.8 points as of 14:32 GMT, after hitting a high of 89.9 points and a low of 89.3 points.

Palladium December futures fell 1.1% to $2,424.5 an ounce as of 14:33 GMT, with a high of $2,464.5 and a low of $2,408.5.

At 13:30 GMT, the US economy released its reading of the weekly unemployment claims for the week ending January 2 at 787K, better than forecasts of 798K, and better than the previous reading of 790K after it was revised from 787K. This data is positive for the US economy.

The US dollar rose on Thursday, heading for its first gain in the last 6 days, to continue its recovery attempts from the lowest level in about 3 years, as low levels attracted bargain hunters, despite the strong market sentiment after fears over the US political tensions eased following the US Congress official announcement of Joe Biden's victory of the US presidential election. 

The dollar index rose 0.7% to 89.95 points, after opening at 89.32 points, and hitting an intraday low of 89.32 points.

The index rose 0.1% yesterday and posted the first gain in three days, after hitting the lowest since March 2018 at 89.20 points.

The US Senate and House of Representatives in a joint session on Thursday ratified Joe Biden's victory of the US presidential election with 306 electoral votes, and the US Vice President Mike Pence officially announced the decision, saying that freedom always wins.

The session procedures were suspended on Wednesday after storming of Capitol Hill by President Donald Trump supporters, but the joint session was soon continued.

The outgoing President Donald Trump said this month that there would be an orderly transition of power after Congress confirms Biden win.

At 13:30 GMT, the US unemployment claims for the week ending January 2 are expected to reach 0.798 million from 0.787 million the previous week.

At 15:00 GMT, the ISM service PMI reading is expected to reach 54.5 points in December from 55.9 points in November.

European stocks rose on Thursday, extending the rally for the second straight session and hit an 11-month high, as fears over the US political tensions eased after the US Congress officially declared Joe Biden the winner of the US presidential election.

The Stoxx Europe 600 index rose 0.3% as of 11:45 GMT, and hit the highest since February 2020 at 408.97 points, after it closed higher by 1.3%.

The pan European index opened higher today for the second straight session, and hit an 11-month high with most of the major European markets and sectors seeing green.

The construction sector saw the largest gains in Europe today, rising more than 1.5%, while the travel and leisure sector fell 1.1%.

The US Senate and House of Representatives in a joint session on Thursday ratified Joe Biden's victory of the US presidential election with 306 electoral votes, and the US Vice President Mike Pence officially announced the decision, saying that freedom always wins.

The session procedures were suspended on Wednesday after storming of Capitol Hill by President Donald Trump supporters, but the joint session was soon continued.

The outgoing President Donald Trump said this month that there would be an orderly transition of power after Congress confirms Biden win.

S&P 500 futures rose 0.5%, after the index closed higher by 0.6% yesterday at Wall Street, and hit its record high of 3,783.04 points.

Back to Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 index rose 0.4%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.5%, and Germany's DAX rose over 0.6%, while the UK's FTSE 100 fell 0.5%.