Muted first half for equities

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After a tumultuous six months, equity markets are pretty much around the same levels as in the beginning of 2015. India's benchmark indices, up one per cent so far this year, have lagged behind emerging market such as China and South Korea, and developed markets like Japan, France and Germany. Not just equity, but most other asset classes, including gold and fixed-income, have failed to generate inflation-beating returns. Foreign investor flows during the six months to June have been less compared to the previous four years but domestic flows have been robust. Market players expect the second half of the year to be better than the first half.