The balance of shares sold short turned higher last week, with the previous week's first fall in three weeks proving to be a short-lived affair.
According to industry figures, the outstanding balance of sales of borrowed shares stood at 922.97 billion yen at the end of the week, up 60.53 billion yen from a week earlier.
Investors' recent favorites showed marked increases in terms of their short positions, with speculative sellers counting on downturns in the market prices of these high-flying issues.
Shares primarily selected by short sellers included Nissan Motor and NKK.
The balance of shares bought on credit, on the other hand, rose for the third week in a row.
The balance of long-margin positions stood at 1.29 trillion yen, up 12.18 billion yen.
Margin buyers opted for Fujitsu, Toshiba and other high-tech issues.