* Auto, chemical stocks among top gainers; renewables

decline

* Naturgy falls after CVC Capital Partners exits €4 bln

stake

* Iran war fallout amplifying Europe's financial

vulnerabilities, ECB warns

(Updates with closing levels)

By Johann M Cherian and Ragini Mathur

May 27 (Reuters) - European shares ended little changed

on Wednesday, holding near record levels reached before the Iran

war began, as gains in automobile and chemical stocks offset

lingering concerns over the conflict and its potential impact on

energy markets.

The pan-European STOXX 600 index closed up 0.03% at

628.18 points after trading modestly higher earlier in the

session and about 1% below its all-time high touched before the

conflict began in late February.

Markets took some comfort from a pullback in oil prices, with

Brent crude down 3.2%, even as investors continued to

track mixed signals from Washington and Tehran.

Iran's state TV said it had obtained a draft of an unofficial

framework for an initial understanding between the United States

and Iran to end the conflict. It said it included a provision

for Tehran to restore shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to

pre-war levels within a month, but the White House dismissed the

report as false.

On Tuesday, Iran accused the U.S. of violating a ceasefire,

raising fresh doubts over the durability of peace efforts.

"Europe is more exposed than the U.S. to the economic

transmission channel of the conflict, which is obviously related

to energy," Luca Bindelli, head of investment strategy at

Lombard Odier, said.

"If we were to reach a deal, some of these concerns building

around Europe would probably unwind," Bindelli said.

"We would not necessarily see the earnings picture improve

materially in the immediate aftermath, but from a sentiment and

multiples perspective, Europe could rebound."

A rise in energy prices has been a key reason European

equities underperformed Wall Street this year, according to

analysts.

The European Central Bank also warned on Wednesday that the war

and lingering trade tensions could hurt euro zone growth, raise

borrowing costs and strain some member states' public finances.

Autos and parts rose 2.5% after data showed Europe's car

registrations rose 7% in April, supported by demand for

electrified vehicles.

Chemicals climbed more than 1.3%, helped by a 19.5% jump

in AkzoNobel after the Dulux paint maker rejected a

joint cash takeover offer of 73 euros ($85) per share from

Nippon Paint ( NPCPF ) and Sherwin-Williams ( SHW ).

Naturgy fell 4% after private equity firm CVC

Capital Partners sold its entire 13.8% stake in the Spanish

energy company at a discount.

Clean energy stocks were also under pressure, with Nordex

down 3%, while Orsted and Vestas

lost 3.1% and 7.4%, respectively.

Polish video game developer CD Projekt ( OTGLF ) dropped 7.5%

after it said it would release a third story expansion for its

flagship game, "The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt," in 2027 rather than

this year as the market had anticipated.

($1 = 0.86 euros)