UPDATE: Short Interest Falls On Nasdaq, NYSE In 2nd Half Of Sept

(Updates to add short-interest figures from NYSE.)

 
   DOW JONES NEWSWIRES 
 

Short interest of Nasdaq and New York Stock Exchange-listed stocks fell in the second half of September, according to the latest figures for the exchanges' semimonthly statistic.

The Nasdaq's short interest slipped 1.4%, while the NYSE posted a 3.4% drop.

Short interest on all 2,910 Nasdaq securities totaled 6.34 billion shares as of Sept. 30, compared with 6.43 billion shares from 2,897 securities. The short ratio, or the number of days' average volume represented by outstanding share position, fell to 2.46 days from 3 days, according to the exchange.

At the NYSE, short interest dropped to 13.06 billion shares from a revised 13.52 billion shares at Sept. 15. Of the 4,097 stocks and 10 warrants available for trading, 3,424 had a short position of at least 5,000 shares or a change of 2,000 trades since the last report.

The short interest on Sept. 30 at the NYSE was equal to 3.42% of the total shares outstanding.

The declines came as the stock market continued to reach fresh post-crisis highs.

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; 212-416-2480; [e-mail]