Reports Show Short Positions Shifting Across Markets

Short-selling activity showed increases across several markets. Nasdaq reported aggregate short interest of about 23.1 billion shares at the end of September, up from roughly 22.5 billion at midmonth, although the days-to-cover measure fell. Short interest in the Harbor Long-Short Equity ETF surged from 59 to 6,770 shares over the same period, equal to 1.4% of its shares. In crypto markets, reports described whales and top traders shifting toward short positions; one Aster account held 20-times-leveraged shorts in XRP, Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Dogecoin, reportedly showing unrealized gains at the time of the snapshot. Sweden’s short-selling register also showed changes among the largest disclosed positions, with SKF entering the top 20, Essity dropping out, and Electrolux posting the biggest increase.