The fastest shorting in five years! Japanese stocks plummet as hedge funds accelerate betting on the downside

The Japanese stock market experienced the largest single-day crash in history between August 2nd and 8th, leading hedge funds to accelerate their bearish bets on Japanese stocks. According to a report by Goldman Sachs, for every long position on a Japanese stock sold by a long-short equity fund, 1.7 short positions are added. Hedge funds continued to bet against global stock markets for the fourth consecutive week, increasing their short positions. Data from Wall Street News shows that the Japanese stock market faced its darkest day ever, with the Nikkei index closing down by 12.4% on that day. A report by Morgan Stanley pointed out that overseas investors have been heavily selling off in the spot market of Japanese stocks, having sold about 90% of the net purchases made during the "Japanese stock frenzy" since April 2023