re alanhawke's question - no - in theory you cannot go naked in non-ASX Shortlist stocks.
In practise though it happens all the time.
How ?
Because a broker can sell a stock for a client that the client does not own even though it is not on the ASX approved list and as long as it is repurchased before the close of trade on the same trading day then no-one will ever know. The important thing is that the brokers books square up at the end of the day for the buy / sell.
And they can do it day after day and almost without volume limit as long as they are confident they can buy back at some stage during the day. This in fact makes this a dangerous strategy in VERY ILLIQUID or thin stocks.
The risk they run is the stock going into a interday trading halt before the stock can be repurchased exposing the trade.
Clearly therefore you need to be using a full service broker and know them (and them know you) rather well.
Remember that we are discussing the small stocks that CFD's and legal ASX approved shorts cant be conducted on here.
The bottom line though is that these little stocks also suffer one great problem which is that for the vast majority of the time they are on nobodies radar. At all. There is no great pool of buyers waiting to get them cheap - or even buy them at all at any price. Thus whether its a shorter or just a disillusioned shareholder selling out the effect will be the same.
Don't look for conspiracy theories where simple lack of buyer interest will also account for the same outcome. it will make you go grey.
In all stocks if the prospects are/were so good then the shorter / seller would find eager buyers.
STL Price at posting:
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