NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - Short interest on the New York Stock Exchange
fell 3 percent in late April, the exchange said on Monday, suggesting a slight
decrease in bearish sentiment in the stock market. For story please see
[ID:nN1172972].

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

The five companies with the largest overall short positions are also
listed.
COMPANY APRIL 30 APRIL 15 NET CHANGE PCT CHANGE
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FIVE BIGGEST INCREASES:
Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 1,270,116,357 1,237,416,804 32,699,553 2.6
Merck & Co (MRK.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 91,632,398 64,035,372 27,597,026 43.1
Pfizer (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 182,975,712 156,836,820 26,138,892 16.7
Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 174,389,762 157,552,800 16,836,962 10.7
Regions Financial (RF.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 47,858,722 35,061,870 12,796,852 36.5
FIVE BIGGEST DECREASES:
General Electric (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 169,694,023 197,058,980 -27,364,957 -13.9
EMC Corp (EMC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 54,806,949 75,350,605 -20,543,656 -27.3
Fannie Mae (FNM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 58,238,107 72,327,977 -14,089,870 -19.5
UBS AG (UBS.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 20,102,823 30,798,466 -10,695,643 -34.7
Rio Tinto RIO.N 34,898,534 43,911,439 -9,012,905 -20.5
FIVE BIGGEST POSITIONS:
Citigroup (C.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 1,270,116,357 1,237,416,804 32,699,553 2.6
AIG (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 278,437,558 272,082,956 6,354,602 2.3
Pfizer (PFE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 182,975,712 156,836,820 26,138,892 16.7
Bank of America (BAC.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 174,389,762 157,552,800 16,836,962 10.7
General Electric (GE.N: Quote, Profile, Research) 169,694,023 197,058,980 -27,364,957 -13.9

Source: NYSE data as of April 30, Reuters Estimates
(Reporting by Emily Chasan; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)