EMERGING MARKETS-Latam stocks edge down as Europe fears linger

* Bovespa down 0.3 pct, Mexico's IPC falls 0.2 pct

* IPC marks third straight month of gains

* Colombian stocks outperform, Ecopetrol leads (Adds monthly context, updates prices to close)

By Caroline Stauffer and Luciana Lopez

MEXICO CITY/SAO PAULO, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks ended the last session of November down slightly on Tuesday on fears the European debt crises could spread.

The politically messy European fiscal troubles have dragged down global equities in recent sessions, and news late in the day that Standard & Poor's could downgrade Portugal's credit ratings did little to alleviate those concerns. [nN30292510]

The MSCI stock index for Latin America <.MILA00000PUS> edged down 0.07 percent on Tuesday for a 3.43 percent loss in November.

Brazil's benchmark Bovespa index <.BVSP> closed down 0.3 percent, off 4.1 percent for the month. Mexico's IPC index <.MXX> gave up 0.2 percent but ended the month up 3.5 percent from its Oct. 29 level for a third straight month of gains.

"There's a lot of uncertainty abroad right now, especially in the European banking system," said Mario Correa, an economist at Scotiabank in Mexico City.

Worries about European contagion hit global equities as well, with U.S. indexes falling despite better-than-expected economic data from the world's largest economy. [ID:nN3028766]

In Brazil, shares of BM&FBovespa moved down 3.48 percent. The world's third-largest exchange operator by market value was fined by Brazil's tax agency for unpaid income taxes and social security levies in 2008 and 2009. [ID:nN30268398]

Preferred shares of state-controlled energy company Petrobras lost 0.45 percent, while rival OGX closed down 1.39 percent. The price of crude oil fell as the dollar strengthened against the Euro.

In Mexico City, telecommunications company America Movil edged down 0.14 percent. The world's No. 3 cell phone company as measured by subscribers may be interested in buying a stake in Serbia's state phone giant Telekom Srbija. [ID:nN30269721]

Chile's IPSA index <.IPSA> slid 0.33 percent, its fourth session of losses, but Peruvian and Colombian stocks eked out gains.

Peru's IGRA index <.IGRA> added 0.24 percent while Colombia's IGBC index rose 0.76 percent, led by state oil company Ecopetrol , which rose 1.19 percent.

Traders said investors scooped up shares of Ecopetrol after the stock's price had fallen in recent sessions on news the government would sell an additional 10 percent of the company to finance infrastructure projects. (Additional reporting by Alvaro Tapia in Santiago and Jack Kimball in Bogota; Editing by Dan Grebler)