* Dollar back below 120.00 yen, euro holds below 135.00
* Worries about China weighing on risk sentiment
* Mixed messages on likely timing of Fed hike no help
By Ian Chua
SYDNEY, Sept 29 (Reuters) - The yen was broadly firmer early on Tuesday, underpinned by safety flows stemming from a selloff in global equities, a risk-off mood that took a heavy toll on commodity currencies.
Worries about the health of the Chinese economy grew after industrial firms suffered their biggest profit drop in four years, while mixed messages from Federal Reserve officials about the likely timing of a hike in interest rate didn't help.
The dollar was back below 120.00 yen JPY= , having slid from Monday's high of 120.60. The euro had a quick look under 134.00 yen EURJPY=R , but has since drifted back to 134.63.
Against the greenback, the common currency climbed above $1.1200 EUR= , pulling further away from a recent trough of $1.1116. As a result, the dollar index .DXY was struggling to hold 96.000, nursing a 0.4 percent fall on Monday.
Commodity currencies were particularly hard hit, further undermined by a tumble in base metals and oil prices. The Australian dollar found itself below 70 U.S. cents again, while its Canadian peer was flirting with an 11-year trough of C$1.3417.
Latest comments from Fed officials clouded the outlook for a 2015 lift-off with Charles Evans, head of the Chicago Fed, calling for rates to stay near zero until mid-2016.
Yet, the Fed is clearly moving closer towards pulling the trigger and when it finally does deliver its first hike in nearly a decade, analysts said the focus will shift to how quickly it will normalise its monetary policy.
"If Fed lift-off is imminent, there is scope for short-term volatility, and this Friday's U.S. non-farm payroll data presents some event risk, especially if it is seen to rule out, or confirm, an October hike," analysts at ANZ wrote in a note to clients.
"While we wouldn't discount this, the reality for markets is that it is more the pace, than the specific timing of hikes, that matters, with a gradualist Fed expected to cap upward pressure on Treasury yields."
The Asian economic diary is nearly bare on Tuesday, again leaving the currency market looking to stocks for direction.
(Editing by Shri Navaratnam)