Uptick

In securities markets, an uptick is simply an increase in the price since the last trade. Alternatively, the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s alternative uptick rule of 2010 was enacted to restrict short sellers from exacerbating downward pricing pressure on stocks that had triggered circuit breakers (i.e. dropped more than 10% in a single day), as a way of promoting market stability and preserving investor confidence. The SEC explained at the time that the uptick rule “will enable long sellers to stand in the front of the line and sell their shares before any short sellers once the circuit breaker is triggered”. At the point a circuit breaker has been triggered, the uptick rule allows short selling only if the price of the security is above the current national best bid