Going Short
Going short means creating exposure that generally benefits when a security, contract, or market price declines, with borrow, margin, liquidity, and exit risk.
Short sale, short selling, naked short selling, locate, and short-sale rule terms used in equity trading.
Short sale mechanics and rules covers short sales, short selling, going short, locates, naked short selling, and short-sale rule terms used in equity trading.
Use this branch when the issue is how a short-sale order is entered, marked, located, borrowed, or restricted. This content is educational and does not recommend short selling.
| Topic | Use it when the question is about | Evidence to check |
|---|---|---|
| Short Sale | Selling borrowed securities with intent to buy back later | Order ticket, sale marking, locate record, borrow source, and execution report |
| Short Selling | Strategy or mechanics of holding a short position | Position record, borrow cost, margin, locate, settlement status, and risk limits |
| Going Short | Entering short exposure | Order entry, sale marking, account approval, borrow availability, and fill report |
| Locates | Pre-trade evidence that shares can be borrowed | Locate source, security, quantity, time, broker system, and borrow availability |
| Naked Short Selling | Short sale concerns without proper borrow or delivery arrangement | Locate record, delivery status, fail-to-deliver data, settlement rule, and enforcement context |
| Short Sale Rule | Restrictions on short-sale order entry after price declines or other triggers | Trigger event, price test, security, effective period, venue, and order marking |
Short-sale mechanics depend on order marking, borrow evidence, margin, settlement, and rule triggers. The controlling evidence is usually broker and clearing data, not commentary about a security.
Move to Short Interest, Borrowing, and Rebates when the issue is reported short interest or borrow economics. Move to Trade Reporting, Settlement, and Processing when delivery, fails, or settlement controls the conclusion.
For broader context, return to Short Selling Rules and Borrowing.
Choose a subsection first. Deeper term pages live inside each subsection, which keeps large topic hubs readable.
Going short means creating exposure that generally benefits when a security, contract, or market price declines, with borrow, margin, liquidity, and exit risk.
Locates are documented checks that a broker-dealer has reasonable grounds to believe shares can be borrowed and delivered before a short sale.
Naked short selling is short-sale activity where the seller has not borrowed or arranged to borrow securities in time for delivery, raising locate and settlement risk.
A short sale is the sale of borrowed securities, creating a short position that must later be covered, settled, and risk-managed.
Short selling is the sale of borrowed securities to create downside exposure, with borrow, margin, settlement, and forced-covering risk.
The short-sale rule refers to price-test restrictions on short sales, including the former uptick rule and current Regulation SHO Rule 201 circuit breaker.