The long / short report October 2026

Executive summary

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 the October’s report include:

Global Equities

Moves in short interest across global equities remained muted during the month, with Commercial & Professional Services (-13bps) the only sector to record a change greater than 10bps. Elsewhere, declines were modest, led by Insurance and Food & Beverage (-4bps each), Energy (-3bps) and Pharmaceuticals (-3bps). Increases were similarly contained, with the largest rises seen across Utilities (+6bps) and Consumer Services (+5bps).

 US Equities

Average short interest across US equities remained unchanged at 90bps during the month, with Utilities retaining its position as the most shorted sector. Consumer Durables recorded the largest increase in short interest, rising 15bps, followed by Healthcare (+9bps) and Telecoms (+7bps). The largest declines were seen across Commercial Services (-8bps), Automobiles (-5bps) and Energy (-3bps).

APAC Equities

Average short interest across APAC equities increased to 83bps during the month. The largest increases were seen across Household & Personal Products (+26bps), Automobiles (+10bps), Transport (+10bps) and Technology & Hardware (+9bps). The largest declines were recorded across Consumer Durables (-6bps), Pharmaceuticals (-5bps) and Software & Services (-3bps).

 EMEA Equities

Average short interest across EMEA equities decreased to 12bps during the month. Changes at the sector level remained muted, with the largest increases recorded across Utilities (+2bps) and Materials (+1bps).

Fixed Income

Utilization decreased by 40bps across the government bond markets but increased by 18bps across corporate bonds.

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