GLOBAL MARKETS-Asia stocks steady, euro little moved as EU vote shows limited gains by nationalists

* Asian stock markets: https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4
* MSCI Asia-Pacific index up 0.1%, Nikkei adds 0.2%

By Shinichi Saoshiro
TOKYO, May 27 (Reuters) - Asia stocks edged up early on
Monday, and the euro was confined to a narrow range after the
weekend's European Parliament elections highlighted the
deepening political fragmentation of the 28-country bloc.
The euro EUR= was a shade higher at $1.1211, holding
within a tight $1.2272-$1.2754 range in what was a limited
reaction to so far the exit polls.
Estimates after the European Parliament polls closed on
Sunday showed that the two largest centrist groups - the
European Peoples' Party (EPP) to the right and the Socialists &
Democrats (S&D) on the left - will no longer hold a majority in
the new 751-seat chamber. Analysts said the single currency's muted reaction to the
preliminary vote outcome came as the results showed populist and
far-right parties in some countries were unlikely to have
gathered as much support as anticipated. .
A centrist, pro-EU coalition would still be possible in the
new chamber that will sit for the first time on July 2nd. But it
would be more difficult to piece together among more numerous
partners, according to the European Parliament's estimates.
The longer-term impact of the election, therefore, remained
unclear, analysts say.
"It's difficult to foresee what will happen to Brexit, the
political situation in Italy and elections in Greece just by
looking at the vote count," said Shin Kadota, senior strategist
at Barclays in Tokyo.
"We may not see an immediate market reaction, as the
election outcome will have to seep in first before beginning to
have a political impact on the various countries."
The pound was 0.1% higher at $1.2727 GBP=D4 . Sterling had
bounced back from a near five-month trough of $1.2605 after
British Prime Minister Theresa May said she would quit early
next month. GBP/
The dollar index against a basket of six major currencies
.DXY inched down 0.05% to 97.563.
In equities, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares
outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS added 0.1%.
Gains were limited by persistent concerns that the
China-U.S. trade conflict was fast turning into a technology
cold war between the world's two largest economies.
Japan's Nikkei .N225 climbed 0.2%.
Wall Street's major indexes edged higher on Friday in a
rebound from the previous session's losses after comments from
U.S. President Donald Trump regarding trade relations with China
gave the wary markets a bit of a respite. .N
U.S. crude futures CLc1 crawled up 0.38% to $58.85 per
barrel, trimming some of the deep losses suffered last week when
trade tensions clouded the global demand outlook for the
commodity.
Brent crude LCOc1 rose 0.79% to %69.24 per barrel.

(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)