EMERGING MARKETS-China rates, Europe fears drag on Latam stocks

* China rate hike fears hit commodities, equities

* Petrobras falls as Q3 earnings miss forecasts

* Bovespa slips 1.03 pct, Mexico's IPC 0.34 pct (Updates to afternoon)

By Luciana Lopez and Alvaro Tapia

SAO PAULO/SANTIAGO, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks slid on Friday as speculation about a possible Chinese interest rate hike hurt commodities and euro zone strains stoked fears of sluggish global growth.

The MSCI Latin American stocks index <.MILA00000PUS> slipped 0.89 percent in the afternoon, for what could be a sixth straight session of losses.

Stocks fell globally, with a more than 5 percent drop in China as investors saw the possibility of higher interest rates in coming days to keep inflation in check. [ID:nTOE6AB04G]

"There was a pretty bad session in China on the outlook for monetary tightening there," said Adriano Moreno, a strategist with Futura Investimentos in Salvador, Brazil.

"But here we're still optimistic for the Brazilian bourse," he said, adding that he did not see Friday's dip as part of a long-term trend.

China became Brazil's biggest trading partner last year, and its massive consumption of commodities has made it a bright spot in a world still struggling with the global economic crisis.

The worries in China took commodity prices lower on Friday, and the Reuters-Jefferies commodities index <.CRB> gave up 2.25 percent.

Regional bourses fell on the prospect of higher borrowing costs in China. Brazil's Bovespa index <.BVSP> lost 1.03 percent, Mexico's IPC <.MXX> 0.34 percent and Chile's IPSA <.IPSA>, which has recently notched record-high closes, 0.56 percent.

"Obviously if you are at historical highs and there is uncertainty abroad, you try to take your gains," said Rodrigo Mujica an analyst at BCI brokerage in Santiago.

Investors also fretted about the health of debt-laden nations in Europe, including Ireland, and the potential to drag on the global economy.

In Sao Paulo, shares of state-controlled energy company Petrobras fell 1.83 percent as petroleum lost 2.71 percent. The company reported net income of 8.6 billion reais in the third quarter, missing forecasts, after markets closed on Thursday. [ID:nN11187903]

"In general, almost every variable that we look at came in marginally worse," BTG Pactual analyst Gustavo Gattass wrote in a report. "Petrobras's stock is likely to trade down on the results."

Mining giant Vale , the world's largest producer of iron ore, retreated 1.66 percent. The company counts China as a major customer.

Cyrela , Brazil's biggest homebuilder, dropped 2.6 percent. The company's third-quarter profit missed analyst estimates. [ID:nN11190929]

"Despite our confidence that Cyrela will manage to deliver its guidance in 2010, we still believe that the company has challenging guidance to deliver in 2011 and 2012 and thus we don't think the risk/return profile is compelling at this point," noted Guilherme Vilazante and Vinicius Mastrorosa of Barclays Capital.

But Gol Linhas Aereas , Brazil's second-biggest airline, helped limit losses with a gain of 2.14 percent. The company reported third-quarter net income of 110 million reais on Friday. [ID:nN12106270].

Rival TAM gained 1.52 percent.

In Mexico, shares of mining company Grupo Mexico slid 1.06 percent. Shares of Cemex , the world's No. 3 cement maker, retreated 1.11 percent.

Mexican food-processor Gruma lost 1.76 percent after Santander lowered its recommendation from "buy" to "neutral" because of lower consumption levels in the United States.

Chile's IPSA index <.IPSA> slipped 0.64 percent, adding to losses in the previous session.

Shares in leading retailer Cencosud fell 1 percent, and top-weighted industrial conglomerate Copec gave up 1.27 percent. (Additional reporting by Guillermo Parra-Bernal in Sao Paulo and Caroline Stauffer in Mexico City; Editing by Dan Grebler)