Nasdaq reported that short interest across all its securities increased to 21,219,978,207 shares as of the settlement date of May 29, 2026. This figure compares with 20,910,610,395 shares reported for the prior settlement date of May 15, 2026. The data covers a total of 5,399 Nasdaq securities, reflecting the aggregate number of shares sold short by broker-dealers regardless of exchange affiliation.

The short interest for the reporting period represents 2.15 days of average daily volume, a decrease from the 2.25 days average recorded during the prior reporting period. This metric indicates the number of days it would take to cover all short positions based on the average trading volume.

Market Breakdown

Short interest levels varied across Nasdaq's primary market tiers. The Nasdaq Global Market experienced an increase in both the number of securities and the volume of shares sold short, while the Nasdaq Capital Market saw a slight rise in share count with a marginal decrease in the days to cover ratio.

Global Market Performance

In the Nasdaq Global Market, short interest totaled 17,273,936,410 shares across 3,749 securities. This marked an increase from the 17,000,786,423 shares reported across 3,727 issues for the settlement date of May 15, 2026. The days to cover ratio for this segment rose to 3.01 days from 2.74 days in the previous period.

Capital Market Performance

Short interest in the Nasdaq Capital Market reached 3,946,041,797 shares for 1,650 securities as of May 29, 2026. This compares with 3,909,823,972 shares in 1,640 securities during the previous reporting period. The days to cover for this segment was 1 day, down from 1.28 days in the prior period.

Nasdaq announced the launch of the Nasdaq Economic Institute on June 09, 2026, a new research platform designed to help policymakers, regulators, and market participants better understand the dynamics shaping capital markets. The Institute will serve as a dedicated platform for original research, expert analysis, and convenings on critical issues affecting the financial ecosystem. This initiative aims to connect ground-level market data to broader economic trends, leveraging Nasdaq's client community of over 10,000 corporates and technology infrastructure embedded across 140+ markets.

"Better markets are built on better insights," said Jeremy Skule, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer at Nasdaq. He emphasized the need for rigorous, independent, and data-driven economic research amidst rapidly evolving economies and technologies. The Institute will focus on three core areas: Capital Formation, Market Modernization, and Financial Resiliency.

As its first major initiative, the Institute debuted a research series focused on how AI is transforming the global economy. The inaugural report explores the impact of generative AI on entrepreneurship, revealing that new business applications have accelerated sharply since early 2025. The timing of this increase aligns closely with advances in generative AI and the introduction of agentic AI tools.

Key Findings from the AI Research Series

The report highlights several significant trends regarding business formation and productivity:

"What's striking isn't just that entrepreneurship is increasing — it's who's driving it and where," said Phil Mackintosh, Chief Economist at Nasdaq. He noted that solo operators forming in sectors with consistent productivity growth provide a meaningful signal for where AI's economic impact may appear first.

Beyond publishing research, the Institute will function as a convening platform. It will bring together market participants, policymakers, regulators, and academic experts through roundtables and forums. These discussions will focus on topics such as access to public markets, the modernization of market infrastructure, and the evolving role of regulation in maintaining transparent and efficient markets.