Short selling, or the speculative sale of stock to capitalize on an imminent market fluctuation, is becoming active again in the local stock market amid the growing expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will raise its key interest rate next month.
 
According to the Korea Exchange on Thursday, the average amount of daily short selling on the main KOSPI and the tech-heavy KOSDAQ amounted to 346 billion won this month.  
 
The average amount of daily short selling hit a record high in August at 489 billion won, before sharply declining to 345 billion won in October.
 
Short sellers profit from falls in share prices by borrowing shares first from brokerage houses or other investors and selling the shares when they are still running high in hopes of a price drop. The increase in short selling indicates more investors are expecting a fall in stock prices.