The balance of shares bought on credit turned higher last week, ending a three-week, back-to-back decline.
The outstanding balance of long margin positions stood at 1.07 trillion yen at the end of the week, up 4.28 billion yen from a week earlier.
The balance of shares sold short rose 6.22 billion yen to 1.097 trillion yen, outrunning the balance of margin purchases for the third week running.
The long-short ratio stood at 0.97, unchanged from a week before. The ratio fell below one-to-one parity for the first time ever in the third week of November, reflecting a wholesale collapse in investor confidence.
Shares heavily bought on credit included Sumitomo Metal Industries, Chugai Mining and Marubeni Corp.
On the other hand, the shares sold short the most were Asahi Bank, followed by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, Nippon Steel and Kawasaki Steel.