The Nasdaq rose 213.80 points, or 0.82%, to reach 26,295.53 after market open, marking a positive start to the trading session.

Market movement at a glance

The index's early gain reflects broad-based buying activity at the open. The following table captures the key data points from the opening move:

Open short interest in Nasdaq-listed securities rose to 22,585,920,419 shares as of the August 31, 2026 settlement date, up from 22,048,481,271 shares reported for the prior period ending August 14, 2026.

The increase reflects higher bearish positioning across both major market segments, with the average days to cover rising from 2.31 days to 2.86 days for all listed issues.

Segment-wise Breakdown

Short interest on The Nasdaq Global Market saw the most significant absolute increase. Positions in 3,860 securities totaled 18,212,067,019 shares, compared to 17,667,604,951 shares in 3,855 issues during the previous reporting period. The days to cover metric for this segment expanded from 2.98 days to 3.52 days.

In contrast, short interest on The Nasdaq Capital Market remained relatively flat in terms of share count but saw a notable rise in coverage duration. Short positions in 1,655 securities stood at 4,373,853,400 shares, a slight decrease from 4,380,876,320 shares in 1,656 securities reported previously. However, the days to cover for Capital Market stocks jumped from 1.22 days to 1.61 days.

What the Numbers Show

The divergence between share count and days to cover in the Capital Market segment warrants attention. While the absolute number of shorted shares decreased slightly by approximately 7 million, the days to cover increased by 0.39 days. This suggests that trading volume for these securities may have declined relative to the open short position, making it potentially more difficult or costly for short sellers to cover their positions compared to the prior period, despite the lower aggregate share count.

Conversely, the Global Market segment showed synchronized growth in both share count and days to cover, indicating a broadening of short interest alongside reduced liquidity or higher trading activity that extended the time required to cover these positions.