Chart of the Day: bet you missed the Venezuelan market rally

Courtesy of brokers Numis, a run-down of equity market performance in the first half of the year:

Half year equity market performance: Click to enlarge

As Numis notes, markets dominated by resources companies, such as Mongolia and Kazakhstan, suffered in the first six months of the year, as did those exposed to the eurozone debt crisis.

The UK market was flat, having risen sharply until mid-March and then dropping until the start of June, after which it moved higher again.

Venezuela's stock market has been flying since president Hugo Chavez announced he had cancer – investors have piled into neglected companies on the hope that 13 years of damaging Chavismo policies can be brought an end.