NEW YORK, June 9 (Reuters) - Short interest on the New York Stock Exchange
rose 1 percent in late May, the exchange said on Tuesday, suggesting some
bearish sentiment may be returning to the stock market after a three-month
rally. For story please see [ID:N09518460]

Below are the five NYSE stocks that experienced the largest increases and
decreases in their short positions from mid- to late May, according to
information released by the exchange.

The five companies with the largest overall short positions are also
listed.

The latest date is as of May 29, while the previous period's data is as of
May 15.
COMPANY NEW DATE OLD DATE NET CHANGE PCT CHANGE
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FIVE BIGGEST INCREASES:
General Motors Corp GM.N 139,135,812 116,877,640 22,258,172 19.0
Merck & Co (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 113,948,563 98,491,289 15,457,274 15.7
Nokia Co (NOK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 37,580,628 26,358,382 11,222,246 42.6
Regions Financial Co (RF.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 61,389,115 52,518,882 8,870,233 16.9
Hertz (HTZ.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 16,290,666 9,084,281 7,206,385 79.3
FIVE BIGGEST DECREASES:
Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 119,528,169 198,264,901 -78,736,732 -39.7
Ford Motor Co (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 115,837,944 138,106,666 -22,268,722 -16.1
Coeur d'Alene Mines (CDE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 4,694,321 23,160,317 -18,465,996 -79.7
BB&T Corp (BBT.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 39,867,518 57,525,865 -17,658,347 -30.7
U.S. Bancorp (USB.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 63,901,650 79,926,872 -16,025,222 -20.0
FIVE BIGGEST POSITIONS:
Citigroup Inc (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 1,277,785,411 1,280,947,568 -3,162,157 -0.2
AIG (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 238,971,828 232,746,267 6,225,561 2.7
Pfizer Inc (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 189,505,755 182,919,418 6,586,337 3.6
General Electric Co (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 150,485,447 157,068,260 -6,582,813 -4.3
General Motors Corp GM.N 139,135,812 116,877,640 22,258,172 19.0
Source: Nasdaq data as of May 29, Reuters Estimates