* Nikkei, Kospi bounce after Wall St hits record

* Oil prices far below recent highs, underpin bonds

* AMD and SpaceX fall after bell, keep Nasdaq futures flat

(Adds quote in paragraph 21, updates prices throughout)

By Nell Mackenzie and Wayne Cole

LONDON/SYDNEY, Aug 5 (Reuters) - World stock markets edged

higher on Wednesday as robust earnings and renewed enthusiasm

for technology shares pushed Wall Street to record highs, while

hopes for progress on opening the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil

prices and bond yields lower.

European shares inched up as investors awaited signs of

progress in the U.S.-Iran negotiations.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index was last up 0.1%.

U.S. President Donald Trump said his administration had

"very good discussions" with Iran during all-day negotiations,

fuelling hopes the five-month conflict could be nearing an end.

Drugmaker Novo Nordisk, one of Europe's biggest

companies by market value, was down 4.2% after disappointing

sales of its Wegovy weight-loss pill overshadowed a strong

second-quarter earnings beat.

HSBC ( HSBC ) shares fell nearly 3% a day after its results

as investors digested analysts' reaction to the figures.

Fresh evidence of heavy spending on AI infrastructure helped

lift Japan's Nikkei 3.7% to its highest since July 23,

while South Korea's market continued its volatile run,

closing 3.8% higher.

MSCI's broadest index of world shares rose

0.4%.

Despite the upbeat mood, chipmaker AMD fell 7% in

premarket trading after dropping 8.8% in after-hours deals as

results that beat analysts' estimates failed to meet investors'

lofty expectations.

AI and satellite company SpaceX was down 10% in

premarket trading on worries heavy capital spending was eating

up all its cash flow.

That has been a recurring concern for all AI stocks given

the vast cost of compute power, with borrowing costs for the

sector continuing to rise.

"SpaceX continues to execute strongly operationally, but its

ambitious investment program means additional capital will

almost certainly be required over the medium to longer term,"

said Chris Weston, head of research at broker Pepperstone.

Nasdaq futures were flat, while S&P 500 futures

added 0.3% after the benchmark index hit all-time highs

on Tuesday.

OIL SLIDE BOOSTS BONDS

Sentiment was supported by weaker oil prices after Qatar

said mediators were making progress in efforts to end the

U.S.-Iran war, though details were lacking.

Brent crude rose over 50 cents, or 0.7%, to $79.95 a

barrel, a long way from its July peak of $102, while U.S. crude

rose 14 cents to $75.90, after reports of attacks on a

Saudi Arabian vessel in the Red Sea.

In the Strait of Hormuz, flows were proving more resilient

than first thought, perhaps reaching 40% to 45% of pre-war

levels last week, said John Oh, an energy economist at CBA,

observing ship tracking numbers.

"We estimate that traffic flows only need to return to 50%

to 60% of pre-war levels to assert oversupply conditions in

global oil markets," he wrote in a note, adding it helped to

explain why Brent oil futures had dipped into the $70s.

The pullback in oil provided some relief from inflation

fears and boosted bonds globally, with 10-year Treasury yields

now at 4.606%, down from last week's high of 4.747%.

The next round of U.S. economic data, including Friday's

jobs report and next week's inflation readings, will be closely

watched by the Federal Reserve, said James Rossiter, head of

global economics at TD Securities.

If the Fed shifted from holding rates steady to a tightening

cycle, "markets would respond vigorously", Rossiter said.

Markets also lowered the probability of a September Fed rate

hike to 57% from 67%.

Fed Bank of Kansas City President Jeff Schmid used a speech

on Tuesday to call for tighter policy to help bring inflation

back to the central bank's 2% target.

The euro was roughly flat at $1.1540, just below

its recent six-week high of $1.1559. The dollar steadied at

157.75 yen, with the threat of intervention still

hanging over the market.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he was sure Bank

of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda would "do what is best" for Japan's

economy, which markets took as encouragement to raise interest

rates further.

Japan and the United States launched a rare joint yen-buying

intervention last week and pledged further action if necessary

to support the currency.

In commodity markets, the drop in yields helped

non-interest-paying gold up 2.2% to $4,166 an ounce.