Companies in the UK and US have been appealing to regulators for protection from short selling after the practice was banned or restricted for banks and other financial stocks in many countries last week.

The Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday gave exchanges control of the list of US stocks protected from short sellers, which was extended to an extra 96 companies. New restricted stocks include carmaker General Motors, industrial group General Electric and GLG Partners, the hedge fund.

Calls for protection have come particularly from property groups, where trade bodies fear their shares could come under assault from short sellers. Short sellers aim to profit from falling prices by borrowing shares and selling them in the hope of buying them back for less.