Nasdaq Short Interest Surge: Open Short Positions Reach 18.1 Billion Shares as of Late November

Betting against Nasdaq-listed stocks has intensified in recent weeks, with open short interest positions climbing to 18.2 billion shares across all Nasdaq securities as of the November 28, 2025 settlement date. This represents a meaningful uptick from the previous reporting cycle two weeks prior, signaling shifting market sentiment among short sellers.

Breaking Down the Numbers Across Market Tiers

The Nasdaq Global Market®, where most major stocks trade, saw the bulk of this activity. Short interest in 3,453 Global Market securities hit 14.88 billion shares by November 28, compared with 14.63 billion shares across 3,414 issues reported for November 14. While the increase appears modest in absolute terms, it reflects a growing bearish positioning, with the average holding period stretching to 2.22 days from 2.16 days in the prior period.

The Nasdaq Capital Market®, typically home to smaller and mid-cap listings, tells a slightly different story. Short interest here settled at 3.31 billion shares across 1,698 securities, marginally down from 3.33 billion shares in 1,697 issues during the previous settlement. This subsector maintained a steady 1.00-day average daily volume, suggesting stable short-selling pressure without notable acceleration.

What the Overall Trend Reveals

When combined, open short interest across all 5,151 Nasdaq securities reached 18.19 billion shares, compared to 17.96 billion shares across 5,111 issues two weeks earlier. The expansion translates to 1.82 days of average daily volume—a noticeable rise from the prior 1.75-day metric. This uptick in the short-to-volume ratio suggests that short positions are taking up a slightly larger share of trading activity, a shift worth monitoring for traders assessing market dynamics.

Understanding Short Interest in Context

For those newer to the markets, open short interest positions reflect the cumulative total of all shares sold short by broker-dealers across all exchange affiliations. A short sale involves selling a security the seller doesn’t own or delivering a borrowed security to complete the transaction. These positions offer a window into institutional and retail bearish bets, often used as a contrarian indicator by savvy investors.

The data point to a nuanced market environment: while Global Market short positions grew, Capital Market shorts remained relatively flat. This divergence suggests that major-cap skepticism is outpacing concerns about smaller-cap prospects—a distinction that could influence sector rotation strategies in the months ahead.

Nasdaq continues to publish detailed open short interest data regularly, providing market participants with transparency into positioning trends. For complete historical data and publication schedules, interested parties can access Nasdaq’s dedicated short interest portal for deeper analysis.