EMERGING MARKETS-Latam stocks rise as European debt fears abate

* Portugal bond sale results ease European debt worries

* Brazilian stocks test highest level since November

* Brazil's Bovespa up 1.09 pct, Mexico's IPC 0.2 pct (Updates to afternoon)

By Luciana Lopez

SAO PAULO, Jan 12 (Reuters) - Latin American stocks rose on Wednesday after a successful Portuguese debt sale heartened investors to pick up riskier global assets.

The MSCI Latin American stocks index <.MILA00000PUS> added 1.82 percent in what could be its best single-session gain since the start of December.

Portugal sold debt to strong demand on Wednesday, easing some of the pressure on the country to look into bailout options. [ID:nLDE70B131]

"The morning had already been positive, before the debt auction, as good data came out of Europe," said Flavio Serrano, senior Brazil economist at Espirito Santo Investment Bank in Sao Paulo. "Then the Portuguese auction wasn't spectacular, but it wasn't bad either. That helped keep the trend positive."

Fiscal woes among the so-called PIIGS -- Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain -- rattled markets last year, with investors dumping riskier assets globally.

Portugal's debt sale helped lift those risky assets on Wednesday, but Serrano cautioned such gains might not continue through the week.

"We're in a very sensitive environment," he said.

Mexico's IPCA index <.MXX> rose 0.2 percent, though still trading near its year-end levels after a steep fall in the previous session.

Billionaire Carlos Slim's Minera Frisco rose 1.71 percent. Frisco, which was spun off from Slim's Grupo Carso last week, said late Tuesday it planned to invest 9 billion pesos ($739 million) in 2011 through bank and financial market financing. [ID:nN11161584]

Cement maker Cemex rose 1.31 percent and Walmex , the country's leading retailer, added 0.4 percent.

In Brazil, the benchmark Bovespa stock index <.BVSP> rose 1.09 percent, testing its highest levels since mid-November.

An advance in the Reuters-Jefferies commodities index <.CRB> helped boost heavyweight commodities companies in Sao Paulo.

Shares of state-controlled oil company Petrobras moved up 1.77 percent, and preferred shares of mining company Vale rose 1.55 percent. Common stock in Vale put on 2.29 percent.

Steelmakers also rose, with Gerdau up 1.67 percent, Usiminas 0.92 percent and CSN 1.39 percent.

In Chile, the IPSA index <.IPSA> climbed 0.81 percent after a four-session drop that took 4 percent off the index -- its worst such slide since June 2009.

Retailers gained, with Falabella up 4.04 percent and Cencosud rising 2.55 percent. (Additional reporting by Brad Haynes in Santiago and Michael O'Boyle in Mexico City; Editing by Dan Grebler)