Short Selling: Bearish Bets Rose in First Two Weeks
Short-selling levels increased at both the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq Stock Market in the first half of January.</br></br>In the latest semimonthly period, ended Jan. 15, the number of short-selling positions at the NYSE not yet closed out, or short interest, rose 1.9% to 13,383,705,291 shares, from a revised 13,129,000,164 shares in the period ended Dec. 31.</br></br>On Nasdaq, short interest rose 0.2% to 6,885,173,921 shares from 6,870,252,846 shares over the same period.</br></br>Investors who "short" shares borrow and sell them, betting share prices will fall and they can buy them back at a lower price for return to the lender. Stocks also can be shorted for other reasons, including hedging strategies.</br></br>"I'm not surprised [short] interest was up," said Harry Strunk, a principal at Treflie Capital Management in New York. "Short sellers are doing very well in January and coming off their second-best year ever."