State Street’s Junk-Bond ETF Draws Record Volume of Bearish Bets
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Investors are placing a record volume of bearish bets on junk bonds by shorting State Street Corp.’s exchange-traded fund that owns the notes as the debt loses value for the first month since May.
The volume of borrowed shares of the SPDR Barclays High Yield Bond ETF surged to 22.8 million on Nov. 16, about three times the average during the past year and up from 9.75 million shares a month ago, according to Markit Group Ltd. In a short sale, traders sell borrowed stock in a bet they can profit from price declines.