GLOBAL MARKETS-Shares rise on U.S. housing data; Ukraine vote looms

* Better-than-expected housing data lifts Wall Street to new

record

* Bond prices rise on safe-haven bid before Greece, Ukraine

voting

* Brent settles above $110 on Ukraine, Libya support

* Euro falls to 3-month low on German data, EU election

uncertainty

(Updates with close of U.S. trading)

By Herbert Lash

NEW YORK (Frankfurt: HX6.F - news) , May 23 (Reuters) - Global equity markets edged

higher on Friday after better-than-expected U.S. housing data

lifted Wall Street into record territory, while yields on U.S.

Treasuries fell on uncertainty about elections in Ukraine over

the weekend.

The benchmark S&P 500 set a new closing high, closing above

the 1,900 mark for the first time. MSCI (NYSE: MSCI - news) 's measure of global

equity performance rose to highs last seen in November 2007,

just short of all-time highs that month.

The day's gains held, contrary to beliefs there might be

selling pressure before the close as U.S. investors headed into

a three-day weekend with the Memorial Day holiday on Monday and

uncertainty over Ukraine's elections on Sunday.

"There are still some concerns out there but they're not

manifesting themselves in the VIX," said Philip Orlando, chief

equity market strategist at Federated Investors in New York.

"There's a lot of complacency in the market at a point where the

market has had a nice little bounce back into the 1,900 area."

The CBOE Volatility Index, closed down 5.6 percent at

11.36, its lowest level since March 2013.

Sales of new U.S. single-family homes rose more than

expected in April and the number of houses on the market hit a

3-1/2 year-high, further signs the housing recovery is poised to

regain steam, the Commerce Department said.

MSCI's all-country world index rose 0.3

percent to 418.33, about 2.4 percent from all-time peaks set in

November 2007.

In Europe, the FTSEuroFirst 300 index of leading regional

shares closed up 0.21 percent to 1,369.17.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 63.19

points, or 0.38 percent, at 16,606.27. The S&P 500 rose

8.04 points, or 0.42 percent, to 1,900.53 and the Nasdaq

Composite added 31.466 points, or 0.76 percent, to

4,185.808.

For the week, the Dow rose 0.7 percent, the S&P 1.2 percent

and the Nasdaq gained 2.3 percent.

Traders sought safe-haven bonds on the belief that elections

in Greece and Ukraine could result in market volatility,

including renewed worries of a Greek exit from the euro and the

potential for greater tensions surrounding Ukraine.

"European parliamentary elections and Ukraine elections are

key events in the near term which could be driving people into

the safety of U.S. Treasuries," said Robbert Van Batenburg,

director of market strategy at Newedge USA LLC in New York.

If Greece's leftist Syriza party wins, its leaders could

reject the government's austerity policies and threaten to leave

the euro zone, he said. If pro-separatist voters in eastern

Ukraine fail to participate, it could stoke further tensions

between Russia and Ukraine.

U.S. government bond prices rose, with the 10-year note

up 5/32, yielding 2.5356 percent.

The euro touched a three-month low of $1.3614 and a 17-month

trough against the pound after soft German business sentiment

stoked expectations the European Central Bank will lower

interest rates next month.

Concerns that Sunday's European Union election results could

destabilize some euro zone governments also weighed on the euro.

The euro was last at $1.3627, down 0.2 percent. The

dollar gained 0.24 percent against the yen at 101.96.

Brent crude held above $110 a barrel as U.S. crude futures

pushed higher, supported by the crises in Ukraine and Libya as

well as positive economic data in the world's top two oil

consumers, the United States and China.

Brent settled up 18 cents at $110.54 a barrel. U.S.

crude gained 61 cents to $104.35.

Both Brent and U.S. crude futures posted consecutive weekly

gains.

(Reporting by Herbert Lash; Editing by Nick Zieminski, Meredith (Frankfurt: MEZ.F - news)

Mazzilli and Dan Grebler)