• S3 Partners data show APAC equity weighted-average short interest climbed from 5.4% to 6.04% of float over six months, as bears built exposure into a broad regional equity rally.

• Short sellers have paid $826 million in financing charges YTD — up 66% year-over-year — the mounting cost of staying short in a rising market.

• Positioning peaked above 6.1% as Bloomberg APAC All-Cap (APACLS Index) hit 1,800, before marginal covering signaled a brief squeeze at the top. When prices cracked during the first week of March, shorts recovered $24 billion, trimming YTD losses to $13 billion.

The bears that held through the squeeze were rewarded. The question now is whether last week's crack is the beginning of a broader reversal.

From September through January, APAC short sellers steadily added into a rising market. Covering near the January peak proved tactical — most held, and notional-weighted short interest stabilized at 6.04% of float as the selloff arrived.

Taiwan and South Korea show the highest concentration of high borrow fee stocks: 35% of notional in high-fee names, translating to $12.7B and $5B in HTB balances — bears paying up in semiconductor and tech-adjacent stocks. S3 Partners data allows portfolio managers to see borrow costs rising, crowding building, and short covering starting in real time.