The New York Stock Exchange released its weekly program-trading data submitted by its member firms.  The report includes trading in all markets as reported to the NYSE for Jan. 7-11.

The data indicated that during Jan. 7-11, program trading amounted to 27.9 percent of NYSE average daily volume of 4,776.8 million shares¹, or 1,334.5 million program shares traded per day. 

Program trading encompasses a wide range of portfolio-trading strategies involving the purchase or sale of a basket of at least 15 stocks with a total value of $1 million or more. 

In all markets, program trading by member firms averaged 3,255.8 million shares a day during Jan. 7-11.  About 41.0 percent of program trading took place on the NYSE, 0.9 percent in non-U.S. markets and 58.1 percent in other domestic markets, including Nasdaq, the American Stock Exchange and regional markets.

¹ The NYSE calculates program trading as the sum of shares bought, sold and sold short in program trades.  The total of these shares is divided by the sum of shares bought, sold and sold short on the NYSE including its crossing sessions.

The NYSE reported short interest as of the close of business on the settlement date of January 15, 2008. 

Based on information received from members and member organizations, short interest increased to 13,850,660,313 from 12,742,596,461 on December 31, 2007.   

The short interest on January 15 was equal to 3.7 percent of the total shares outstanding.

The short interest in warrants as of January 15 amounted to 154,812 warrants, compared to 4,021,296 warrants the previous period.

As of the settlement date, there were 3,632 stocks and 8 warrants available for trading. Of these, 3,132 issues had either a short position of at least 5,000 shares or a change of 2,000 shares since the last monthly report. 

A short sale is any sale of a security that the seller does not own, or any sale that is completed by the delivery of a borrowed security.

The preceding 12 short positions are shown below: