Nasdaq shorts hit a record while the S&P claws back off its lows

Right now the S&P500 is down 0.50% and the Nasdaq down 1.05% — still red, but both have clawed back a decent chunk of the losses I saw at my last check-in. July's factory output data landed right on forecast, which took some air out of the rate-hike-scare balloon and looks like what's pulling stocks off the floor. The Nasdaq's having a rougher time of it though — even with big-tech insiders buying their own stock at the heaviest pace in 15 years, word that Nasdaq100 short bets just hit an all-time high is dragging the tape down. Sector-wise, energy and real estate are catching a bid while copper/miners and cybersecurity names are getting sold, and unlike yesterday's brutal session back home (KOSPI -1.55%, KOSDAQ -3.52%), New York's actually working to erase red ink today. With a bit over three hours left to the close, I'm watching whether this short-vs-buyback tug-of-war drags the Nasdaq lower or ends up feeding the bounce.