In a crackdown on traders who bet stocks will fall, Australian regulators have effectively banned naked short sales and introduced stricter disclosure rules for covered short selling.
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) said today it would remove all securities from its list of stocks approved for naked short selling from Monday, adding the removal will remain in force "until further notice.''
The move follows similar steps by overseas regulators and is an effort to curb excessive volatility in financial markets following this week's turmoil.
Short selling has been blamed for some of the big losses in the past days, including the pounding of Macquarie on Thursday when the shares lost more than 20% in their worts-ever daily slump.
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