NEW YORK, Feb 11 (Reuters) - Short interest on the

Nasdaq eased 1.7% at the end of January, the exchange said on

Tuesday.

As of January 31, short interest dipped to about 14.581

billion shares, compared with 14.827 billion shares as of

January 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 a lower price, return them to the lender and

pocket the difference.

Shorting can also be part of a hedging strategy.