BREAKING: Short interest on the median S&P 500 stock has surged to ~2.3%, the highest in 7 years. Short interest as a % of shares outstanding has risen 35% year-to-date. This is a comparable move to the one seen at the beginning of the 2008 Financial Crisis, but starting from a lower base. Short interest in the median S&P 500 stock has now surpassed its long-term historical average for the first time since the 2021 short squeeze, according to Goldman Sachs. At the same time, hedge fund shorts on Nasdaq stocks as a share of total open interest reached 41%, the most since February 2021. Institutional investors are betting on a stock market decline.