The rise in short-selling pressure, coupled with a weak labor market, has brought the rebound momentum in US stocks to a standstill.

The U.S. stock market rally stalled as large-cap AI-related stocks fell and traders analyzed data indicating further weakness in the labor market. The S&P 500 opened 0.2% lower, dominated by declines in the technology and communication services sector. Nvidia was the biggest drag on the index after its shares fell following SoftBank's sale of its entire stake in the chipmaker to fund other AI investments, netting $5.83 billion. According to Citigroup research, investors increased their bearish bets on stocks over the past week, including a net increase of $3.75 billion in short positions on the Nasdaq. Analyst Chris Montagu wrote, "New shorts dominated U.S. stock market flows." Traders also received more data on the weakness in the U.S. labor market, as ADP data showed that U.S. private sector jobs fell by an average of 11,250 per week in the four weeks ending October 25. (Jinshi)