Bearish NYSE Bets Rose in October
NEW YORK -- Short interest rose at the New York Stock Exchange in late October in the wake of the market's fresh records earlier in the month.</br></br>For the period ending Oct. 31, the number of short-selling positions not yet closed out at NYSE -- so-called short interest -- rose 2.4% to 11,932,729,768 shares from 11,654,666,528 shares in mid-month.</br></br>The short ratio, or number of days' average volume represented by the outstanding short positions at the exchange, fell to 8.4 from 9.6 in mid-October.</br></br>Investors who "short" shares borrow them and sell them, betting the price will fall and they will be able to buy the shares later at a lower price for return to the lender.</br></br>In general, the higher the short interest, the more investors expect a downturn.