China shares make lukewarm start to 2013, property strong

HONG KONG Jan 4 (Reuters) - Mainland China shares eked out a gain to start 2013, with a rise in property counters on anticipated demand helping reverse midday losses as investors returned on Friday from a three-day New Year holiday.

The CSI300 of the top Shanghai and Shenzhen A-shares closed up 0.1 percent at 2,524.4. The Shanghai Composite Index crawled up 0.4 percent. Both indexes closed at their highest since mid-June.

They rose 1.8 and 2 percent respectively this week, when mainaland markets had only two days of trading. (Reporting by Clement Tan; Editing by Richard Borsuk)