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

Nasdaq rose 1% in late February, the exchange said on Tuesday.

As of February 28, short interest rose to about 15.33

billion shares, compared with 15.18 billion shares as of

February 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.