NEW YORK, Sept 10 (Reuters) - Short interest on the

Nasdaq rose 0.2% in late August, the exchange said on Wednesday.

As of August 29, short interest rose to about 16.959 billion

shares, compared with 16.930 billion shares as of August 15.

Investors who sell securities "short" borrow shares and then

sell them, expecting the stock to fall so they can buy the

shares back at the lower price, return them to the lender and

pocket the difference.

Shorting can also be part of a hedging strategy.