Short-selling

This will push their paper losses to more than US$12 billion, says data analytics firm S3 Partners

The move extends Burry’s bearish stance on highly valued tech stocks

The trade war is still in its infancy, so there is plenty of time for the short bets to come good

They had lost US$2.5 billion in July as of last Thursday, betting against the 50 US-listed stocks with the highest short interest

Tesla’s shares fell 7.5% at US$291.50, having lost more than 21% so far this year

Why this worry about an activity that is routine and commonplace in the currency, futures and commodities markets?

Short sellers borrow shares they expect to fall, aiming to repay the loan for less later to pocket the difference

The curbs are meant to mitigate potential volatility and provide investors with an opportunity to assess their response to the US tariff barrage

The move could improve market access as it is likely to progress the country’s bid to be upgraded from emerging to developed-market status