Most mutual funds lagged the market in the turbulent second quarter, with international funds finishing on top and utility funds on the bottom of the performance scale.</br></br>The average general equity fund gained 1.63%, falling short of the 5.02% advance in the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, with dividends reinvested, according to Lipper Analytical Services Inc. It was the fifth consecutive quarter that the average fund trailed the broad market measure.</br></br>Many fixed-income funds slid into negative territory for the first time since the second quarter of 1984, following violent bond-price swings during the spring. Gold funds fell back sharply from their top spot in the first quarter, as precious-metals fervor cooled along with fears of rising inflation. Lipper ranks 1,278 funds in 20 categories.</br></br>For the first six months, the average general equity fund logged a gain of 21.09%, compared with an increase of 27.44% for the S&P 500.</br></br>The second quarter's top fund was Dreyfus Strategic Aggressive Investing. It led the pack by capitalizing on the market's volatility through the use of stock-index futures and options, netting a gain of 42.51% in its start-up quarter. Bringing up the rear was Strategic Capital Gains. The fund, run by Dallas-based Strategic Management, bet heavily on a troubled oil-technology company -- and dropped 20.42%.