© Reuters. People walk around the Financial District near the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 29, 2023. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz/File Photo
By Carolina Mandl
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Investors who bet against U.S. and Canadian stocks had paper losses of $194.9 billion last year following a sharp market rally, data provider S3 Partners Research said on Thursday.
The firm said 2023 was an “exceedingly difficult year” for short sellers, after the Index surged 43.4% and the rose 24.2%. Investors who short a stock are betting that its price will fall.
Bets against Tesla (NASDAQ:), Nvidia (NASDAQ:), Apple (NASDAQ:), Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:), Microsoft (NASDAQ:) and Amazon.com (NASDAQ:) were the six biggest losers for short sellers, S3 said.
Overall, investors’ total short position was $957 billion, S3 said.
Still, some investors were able to make money betting against stocks, especially during the…
