BEIJING, Aug. 29 (Xinhua) -- A total of 323 mutual funds operated by 56 fund management companies on the Chinese mainland realized 490.9 billion yuan (65 billion U.S. dollars) in gross profits in the first half of the year, nearly double their gains for the whole of last year.

The China Securities Journal Wednesday reported that the total included 364 billion yuan in net profits.

The impressive performances of mutual funds were attributable to robust stock markets on the mainland, market observers said.

In the first half, the mainland's two bourses in Shanghai and Shenzhen raised 188 billion yuan in total, with an average daily turnover of 203 billion yuan, up 440 percent for last year.

The newspaper said 254 of the mutual funds invested heavily in stocks. They mostly held blue-chip shares, including China Merchants Bank, CITIC Securities, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank and Baosteel.