Trump’s tariffs: Wall Street slide nets short sellers $127bn

Short sellers targeting US companies have gained $127bn on paper from April 2 through Monday after President Donald Trump’s plans for sweeping tariffs sparked a sharp selloff in stocks, according to data and analytics company Ortex Technologies.

The data, for US companies with market capitalisation $1bn and greater, showed short sellers’ gains for 2025 through Monday at $189bn.

Read- Trump tariffs: More than $5tn wiped off markets in two days

Short sellers aim to profit by selling borrowed shares and buying them back later at a lower price.

These bearish investors profited since April 2 as Trump’s plans for extensive tariffs against US trading partners set off a plunge of roughly $5tn in market value for the S&P 500 index.

Short interest for various stock indexes from around the globe increased rapidly from March 31 and peaked on April 4 before starting to drop, data from Ortex showed.

Falling short interest typically indicates investors growing less bearish as well as profit-taking.

“It seems fair to say that some short sellers seem to be looking to lock in their gains,” Ortex cofounder Peter Hillerberg said.

On Tuesday, the S&P 500 was up 2.8 per cent in late morning trade.