Traders betting on falling stock prices have made $159 billion in just six trading days after the escalating trade war sent U.S. stocks tumbling more than 10 percent. According to S3 Partners LLC, U.S. stocks have seen their biggest decline since 2022 since Trump announced sweeping tariffs, and shorting an ETF (code SPY) that tracks the S & P 500 has become the most profitable short bet in the period. Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics at S3, said that overall, the pullback has been very profitable in any sector shorted, with 81% of short trades turning a profit and as much as 97% of short positions turning a profit by value.