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Uptick Rule

a.k.a. Short sale rule, Alternative uptick rule

A US stock market rule that limits short selling to prices above the last trade when a stock is already…
In plain English

A US stock market rule that limits short selling to prices above the last trade when a stock is already falling hard.

The uptick rule was introduced in the US in 1938 to stop short sellers piling onto a falling stock and hammering it lower. In its original form, you could only short at a price higher than the last trade (an uptick). It was scrapped in 2007.

After the 2008 crisis, regulators brought back a softer version in 2010: once a stock falls 10% in a day, short sales for the rest of that day and the next are only allowed above the best bid. It does not apply to forex.

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