BEARISH sign: All short sellers giving up

From Bespoke Investment Group:

Following July's leg higher, it seems that traders on the short side cut and run. As shown in the chart, the average stock in the S&P 500 had 4.97% of its float sold short as of the end of July.

This is the lowest level since January 30th, and marks a decline of 17% from the peak levels in July 2008.

Bears will cite this number as proof that investors are crowded on the long side. While bulls would probably prefer to see higher levels of short interest, they are likely to note that short interest remains high from a longer term perspective.