The long / short report February 2026

The long / short report provides a geographic analysis of the long/short market by sector, using S&P Global Market Intelligence's securities finance short interest data.

Highlights from February's report include:

Global Equities

Consumer Services maintained its position as the most shorted sector across global equities during the period followed by Commercial Services and Healthcare.  The largest and only increase in short interest was seen across Commercial and Professional Services (+10bps) as all other sectors noted a decline in activity.

US Equities

The average short interest across US equities fell to 77 basis points over the month.  The largest increases were seen across Consumer Durables (+13bps), Household and Personal Products (+10bps), Telecoms (+9bps) and Automobile and Components (+8bps).  The largest decreases were seen across Utilities (-9bps) and Transport (-4bps).  

APAC Equities

The average short interest across APAC equities increased to 72 basis points over the month.  Increases in short interest were seen across Transportation (+26bps), Automobiles (+22bps) and Consumer Services (+12bps).  The largest decreases were seen across Household and Personal Products (-13bps), Materials (-5bps) and Pharmaceuticals (-3bps).

EMEA Equities

Average short interest across EMEA equities declined to 14 basis points during the month.  Short sentiment remained muted across the majority of sectors with only a small degree of variation seen across most sectors in comparison to the previous month.  The largest increases took place across Telecommunications (+3bps) and Consumer Durables (+2bps) and the largest decrease was seen across Consumer Services (-2bps).

Fixed Income

Utilization increased by 51bps across the government bond markets and by 52bps across corporate bonds.

Please download the full report by clicking on the button above to read further details.