Short positions in US stocks have dropped to their lowest level in more than a decade, as this year’s record-breaking rally inflicts big losses on investors seeking to profit from declining share prices.
Short interest as a proportion of market capitalisation for the median stock in the S&P 500 index fell to 1.8 per cent at the beginning of this month, according to figures from Goldman Sachs, the lowest since the bank began tracking the data in the 2004. That compares to 2 per cent at the start of the year, and an average of 2.4 per cent over the past 15 years.
For tech and health stocks, the year’s best performing sectors, short positions relative to market value now stand at or close to the lowest level for the period analysed by the bank.