New York ? The end of major hostilities in Iraq applied a healing salve to bruised world markets, helping most major mutual fund categories post healthy double-digit gains over the past three months.

The market surge, which began in mid-March, picked up momentum in the second quarter, leaving many investors and fund managers pondering whether there was an end in sight to the 3-year-old bear market.

Standout fund categories included international funds and science and technology funds, but even U.S. large cap funds posted average gains of at least 13 percent, according to Lipper Inc., a New York-based firm that tracks the mutual fund industry. That was comparable to the performance of the Standard and Poor’s 500 index, a broad measure of the U.S. equities market and a prominent fund benchmark.

Diversified international funds and region-specific funds bounced back strongly, wiping out first-quarter losses and posting solid gains for the year thus far.

The best performing international funds included those focused on Europe and emerging markets.

Investors in European funds were doubly blessed, as rallies in many European stock markets were boosted by the newfound strength of the euro. Emerging markets funds also posted strong gains despite the blow to many Asian economies from the SARS epidemic.

Newfound gains in long-battered technology stocks boosted science and technology mutual funds by more than 20 percent for the quarter, mirroring the rise of the tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index.