Global shares resume climb as investors assess Covid variants          

Equity gains on Wall Street were modest, while European equities also moved higher. 

Pedestrians pass social distancing signage on Oxford St, London, as UK prime minister Boris Johnson warns that coronavirus infections will rise as he prepared to announce the lifting of restrictions from July 19. Picture: Dominic Lipinski/PA

A gauge of global stocks hit an intraday record as investors looked for signs on whether the Delta variant of the coronavirus could dent global growth.

Earnings season is poised to get underway this week, along with key inflation data on consumer and producer prices, as well as comments from US Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, which should help investors get a glimpse of economic growth prospects and the central bank's policy path.