HONG KONG, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Hong Kong stocks may gain some 
ground on Friday following two straight days of sharp losses, 
boding well for the debut of Sinotrans Shipping Ltd <0368.HK>, 
China's third-largest dry bulk shipper. 
    Brokers said Sinotrans, which raised US$1.47 billion in a 
Hong Kong initial public offering, traded around HK$8.70 in the 
grey market, or about 6 percent higher than its IPO price. 
    The broad market should get a boost after billionaire 
investor Lee Shau Kee, who has been nicknamed Hong Kong's Warren 
Buffett, said he spent more than HK$1 billion ($129 million) in 
the stock market on Thursday as the first salvo in a HK$10 
billion bargain hunt [ID:nHKG312299]. 
    With the market now about 19 percent off its record high set 
in October, "the upside potential is greater than the downside", 
said Philip Chan, research director at CAF Securities, adding 
that the benchmark Hang Seng Index may be capped at 26,800 on the 
day. 
    Property stocks should benefit from Hong Kong's rising cost 
of living as residents look to fixed asset investments to hedge 
against inflation. The city's October consumer price index jumped 
3.2 percent from a year earlier, much higher than forecast and 
its highest level since July 1998. 
    The Hang Seng <.HSI> fell 2.3 percent to 26,005.92 on 
Thursday. The China Enterprises Index of Hong Kong-listed 
mainland companies <.HSCE> fell 2.7 percent to 15,561.42. 
    STOCKS TO WATCH: 
    * The initial HK$1 billion investment by billionaire investor 
Lee Shau Kee went into China Life Insurance Co <2628.HK>, China 
Merchants Bank <3968.HK>, oil firm CNOOC Ltd <0883.HK>, coal 
producer Shenhua Energy <1088.HK> and stock market operator Hong 
Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd <0388.HK>. 
    FACTORS TO WATCH: 
* Japanese financial markets closed for a holiday            [.T] 
* U.S. financial markets are closed for a holiday            [.N] 
* STOCKS NEWS ASIA-Market factors, main events     [STXNEWS/ASIA] 
* Oil eases below $97 a barrel, weak dollar supports        [O/R] 
* Dollar marks Thanksgiving with new record lows           [USD/] 
* For upcoming Hong Kong events, click on              [HK/DIARY] 
* For Hong Kong press digest, click on                 [PRESS/HK] 
 (US$1=HK$7.8) 
  ((Reporting by Rita Chang, editing by Anne Marie Roantree; 
[email protected]; Reuters Messaging: 
[email protected]; +852-2843-6370)) 
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Keywords: MARKETS HONGKONG STOCKS PREOPEN