Short positions soar to pandemic levels, squeezing the market and triggering imminent volatility; short-term fluctuations are about to reach their peak.

On May 26, the short positions in U.S. stocks reached multi-year highs: the median short position in S&P 500 stocks reached 3.0%, the highest in recent years, approaching the pandemic levels of 2020; the short position in the heaviest 10% of stocks reached 8.0%, the highest since 2018.
Both indicators are higher than the bear market levels following the dot-com bubble burst in 2000, and the market may experience a short squeeze, potentially triggering a sharp rally in the short term.