GPT-6 Astra rekindles market enthusiasm! The sharp rise in SoftBank heightens the risk of shorting and is expected to further boost the Nikkei 225 Index

The Zhitong Finance App learned that SoftBank Group's recent rise has revealed the risks faced by short position investors. These short positions have risen to the highest level in a year. This has fueled speculation that any forced liquidation of positions could further push up the share price. As of Wednesday, the share of short positions in tradable shares rose to 2.27%, the highest level since July 2025, according to S3 Partners LLC. The data provider said nominal short positions are worth $3.9 billion, the highest level since early 2015.

Although the market is generally bearish, OpenAI's newly launched GPT-6 Astra model has regained market popularity, driving SoftBank's stock price to rise 31% this month. SoftBank is an investor in OpenAI. According to S3 data, this caused short sellers to lose about 1 billion US dollars on their books this month, bringing the total market value loss since this year to about 1.2 billion US dollars.

“Losses will put pressure on fund managers with short positions, and further price fluctuations will exacerbate this situation,” said Sam Pierson, head of research at S3. He also added that the risk of rolling out is already at a high level.

At a time when currency fluctuations and renewed tension in the Middle East are putting pressure on investors' sentiment, the potential shortfall and further rise in SoftBank's stock price may support the Nikkei 225 Index. According to the data, SoftBank ranked second in weight in this index.

Despite this, SoftBank's massive artificial intelligence investment plans and financing concerns are still overshadowing its stock price prospects, which may reduce losses for shorter-makers.

Tomoichiro Kubota, chief market analyst at Matsui Securities, said that although the recent rise in the Astra model after launch may trigger bears' recovery, the listing details that SB Energy will soon announce are the key. “If the market has strong demand for SB Energy's IPO and pricing remains strong, this may trigger a backlash from bears,” Kubota said.