With hopes for a new fiscal stimulus reigniting a squeeze of short positions, the S&P 500 continues to experience a rally of its own. This increase sees the stock index edge ever closer to attaining new record highs. $10 billion worth of short stocks were sold last week, which is the highest amount since April of last year.
Analysts from Citi addressed the recent phenomena, explaining that there is still much potential for further short squeezes that will continue to boost market gains for the next week or two. This insight was included as part of a report published by Citi, during which data on the exchange-traded futures was assessed.
This surge is the result of a social media-driven retail trading campaign, targeted at heavily shorted stocks. With the likes of GameStop enjoying heavily inflated stock prices as a result, the S&P 500 index has experienced a 5% gain in February so far. On Monday, the index closed at a new all-time peak of 3,915 points.
