RIYADH: The equity markets in the Gulf Cooperation Council region were dragged to the lowest in one year in November 2022, as Saudi Arabia’s main index slipped 6.6 percent below the 11,000 mark, according to a report by Kamco Invest. TASI slipped below 11,000 on Nov. 21 and has been hovering under that mark since then. In November, Arabian Drilling Co. topped the TASI chart with a gain of 18.0 percent followed by Abdul Mohsen Al-Hokair Tourism and National Co. for Learning and Education with gains of 17.4 percent and 16.2 percent, respectively. On the decliners’ side, Middle East Paper Co. topped with a fall of 26.8 percent followed by Rabigh Refining and Petrochemical Co. and Fitaihi Holding Group with declines of 24.9 percent and 24.3 percent, respectively. In the report, Kamco Invest noted that Oman was the best-performing market in November with a gain of 5.7 percent, followed by Kuwait and Abu Dhabi where stocks rose 3.6 percent and 1.3 percent respectively. According to the report, the steep decline in November also affected the GCC markets" year-to-date performance, with the index closing the month in red for the fourth time this year. “Saudi Arabia was the only market in the GCC that closed November 2022 with a year-to-date decline of 3.4 percent,” said Kamco Invest in the report. The report added: “Abu Dhabi continued to lead in the region with a year-to-date gain of 24.3 percent followed by Oman and Kuwait with healthy gains of 11.7 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively.” According to the Kamco Invest report, almost all the sectoral indices closed in the red during the month of November. The report further pointed out that capital goods, hotels, restaurants and leisure, and real estate indices showed marginal positive performance during the month while the rest of the benchmarks receded. The pharma and biotech index was the worst-performing index during November as it registered a decline of 10.6 percent followed by the consumer durable and apparel and materials index with declines of 10.4 percent and 9.6 percent, respectively, the report added. The report went on to point out that the utility index in the GCC region also witnessed a decline of 9.6 percent during November.