Short selling to be flagged on ATHEX, says market regulator
The Athens Exchange (ATHEX) will begin flagging short sales as part of a worldwide crackdown to help stop stock markets from plunging as a result of the upheaval on Wall Street, the Greek capital markets watchdog said yesterday. The measure will be effective as of today until the end of the year. «The Capital Markets Commission decided to take (these) temporary measures regarding short selling to further strengthen transparency and to secure calm market operations,» the Greek regulator said. Short sellers try to profit from falling prices, borrowing stock in the hope of replacing it later at a lower price. The regulator will publish a daily account of all short sales that take place during the trading day and the number of shares by company that were purchased by borrowing. Legal entities that had acquired short positions in stocks that exceeded 0.1 percent of the total stocks issued in the company will have to inform the regulator or the bourse no later than the following day, the statement added. Greece’s rules on short selling follow the tough rules adopted in the United States and many other countries aimed at shoring up the financial sector.
