(Updates with data from the New York Stock Exchange)
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Short interest in Nasdaq-listed stocks rose 0.9% in the first
half of September, according to the latest figures for the
exchange's semimonthly statistic.
Later Friday, the New York Stock Exchange said short interest
its stocks were virtually flat.
Stocks have been on the rise since the beginning of September
after an August that turned out to be the second-worst month of the
year for the Dow Jones Industrial Average after May.
The Nasdaq's short interest totaled 7.34 billion shares of 2,386
Nasdaq securities as of Sept. 15, compared with 7.27 billion from
2,391 securities as of Aug. 31. The short ratio, or the number of
days' average volume represented by outstanding share positions,
grew to 3.95 days from 3.91 days.
At NYSE, a unit of NYSE Euronext (NYX), short interest was 14.36
billion, flat with the prior period. That was equal to 3.8% of
total shares outstanding.
Investors who short shares first borrow shares and then sell
them, betting that share prices will fall and that 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 Nathan Becker and Joan E. Solsman, Dow Jones Newswires;
212-416-2855; nathan.becker@dowjones.com;