Short Sales on NYSE Top 2011 Peak as September Bets Lost 21%

Short sales on the New York Stock Exchange have climbed above last September’s peak, a level that preceded a five-month rally and heralded losses for bears.

Shares borrowed and sold reached 5.35 percent of stock available for trading last month, according to data compiled by NYSE Euronext. That eclipses 5.28 percent on Sept. 15, when bearish bets peaked last year and the 25 most-shorted companies in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index began a 21 percent advance, data compiled by Bloomberg show.