(Updates throughout with NYSE data.)
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Short interest of Nasdaq- and New York Stock Exchange-listed stocks climbed in the second half of May, rising after a streak of declines for the exchanges' twice-a-month statistic as stock markets continued to tick upward.
Nasdaq's short interest has been slipping since the first half of March, when equity markets bottomed. The NYSE, meanwhile, last posted a gain in its short-selling position in the back half of March.
Short-selling levels increased 3.6% at the Nasdaq Stock Market and 1% at the NYSE during the second half of May.
Short interest on all 2,946 Nasdaq securities totaled 6.61 billion shares as of May 29, compared with 6.37 billion shares from 2,971 securities in the prior reporting period. The last time the short interest was higher was in the first half of April, when it totaled 6.71 billion shares.
The short ratio, or the number of days' average volume represented by outstanding share positions, rose to 3.03 days from 2.47. Trading volume has eased in recent weeks, explaining much of that metric's gains.
At the NYSE, short interest rose to 15.29 billion shares from a revised 15.14 billion shares at May 15. Of the 4,102 stocks and 10 warrants available for trading, 3,385 had a short position of at least 5,000 shares or a change of 2,000 shares since the last report.
The short interest on May 29 at the NYSE was equal to 4% of the total shares outstanding, up from 3.96% in the first half of May.
Investors who short shares borrow and sell them, betting the share prices will fall and they can buy them back at a lower price for return to the lender. Stocks can also be shorted for reasons other than bearish bets, including hedging strategies.
-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 201-938-5285; john.kell@dowjones.com
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Publié le 09 Juin 2009 Copyright © 2009 Dowjones