Tesco draws short interest

Tesco draws short interest

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The British retail giant tops the list after it issued a profit warning September 29 and cut its interim dividend in order to reduce capital expenditure.

The company said now expects full-year trading profit of £2.4bn, compared to analyst expectations around £2.7 to 2.8bn. This, combined with the dividend news, brought about an 8% drop in its share price.

Meanwhile, data from SunGard's Astec Analytics suggests that while short selling had been on the rise a little for a week or so before the announcement, the fall in the stock has triggered a bout of short covering activity - so far closed loans account for about 6% of total borrowed volumes.

Fiat is in the list after its shareholders confirmed they will not be blocking the proposed reorganization of the company, which will see its primary listing moved to the New York Stock Exchange and its tax residency moved to the UK.

That said, its share price was fairly mixed during the week, while data suggests short sellers are taking a more positive view, with borrowing now down almost 50% since the start of last month.

African Minerals saw its first entry in the list this week as ongoing concerns surrounding the Ebola outbreak weigh heavily, despite the company's assurances that there have been no cases on its sites to date.

The firm was already undergoing pressure despite its confirmation last month that it has been given access to $248mn in cash after it reached an agreement with Shandong Iron and Steel Group.

That said, short sellers are seemingly more optimistic than the long side, as this share price fall has helped bring about a 12% reduction in the borrowing of its shares over the period.
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