Pain Is Proving More Durable in S&P 500 as Traders Lean on Shorts
- Bearish bets on index fund surge toward this year’s high
- Deepening trade angst sends stocks lower for two straight days
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As rebounds get less robust, stock traders are taking precautions to shield themselves amid signs of a deepening impasse on trade.
U.S. equities failed to muster one of the rousing recoveries that have marked many May afternoons, with technology firms and the Nasdaq 100 bearing the brunt of the selling. Hedges are being deployed in case shares fall further, with short interest on the most popular S&P 500 exchange-traded fund surging toward the highest levels of the year.