Greece reactivates uptick rule on short sales

Greece's securities regulator on Monday brought back the uptick rule on short selling on the Athens stock exchange as part of measures to limit abusive trading practices.
The ruling took effect from October 6 and will be in force until Dec. 31, 2008, the Capital Markets Commission said.
It means that a stock can be sold short only when the last trade was a rise in the price.
Last month Greek stock market authorities decided to flag short sales as part of a worldwide crackdown to help stop stock markets plunging amid the upheaval on Wall Street.
There is now a daily account of all short sales that take place and the number of shares by company that were borrowed to be sold short.
Legal entities with short positions in stocks that exceed 0.1 percent of the total stocks issued in the company will be required to disclose the position to the regulator or the exchange no later than the following day.
Greece's rules on short selling follow tough measures adopted in the United States and other countries aimed at shoring up the financial sector.