Citigroup says Asian stock market positions are mostly bearish, short positions on Nikkei and KOSPI are at high levels

Citigroup Research stated in a report that Asian stock market positioning remains bearish, with the Nikkei Index still having the heaviest short positions. As investors adopt a more defensive stance, global stock market positioning continues to weaken. The common theme across regions over the past week has been the near-constant return of short positions. In Asia, short positions on the Nikkei and Korea's KOSPI Index remain at high levels, while long participation is still limited. This has created an asymmetric pattern, where even mild positive catalysts could trigger a sharp short covering rebound, especially for the Nikkei and KOSPI Index.