CHICAGO (MarketWatch)– Nasdaq OMX Inc. said late Tuesday that short interest rose to 6.86 billion shares in 2,425 securities at the end of May 14 from 6.79 billion shares in 2,426 issues at the end of April 30. A short sale is a bet by an investor that a stock’s price will fall.

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The American Petroleum Institute reported Tuesday an increase of 616,000 barrels in oil stockpiles in the week ended May 21. The API also reported a decrease of 3.19 million barrels of gasoline in stock and an increase of 1.5 million barrels in the stocks of distillates, which include diesel and heating oil. Analysts polled by Platts had seen an increase of 100,000 barrels. Gasoline stocks were expected to rise by 150,000 barrels, while distillates stocks were thought to increase by 200,000 barrels. The API data comes ahead of the more closely watched report by the Department of Energy’s Energy Information Administration due Wednesday morning. (A previous version of this story had the incorrect figures for oil inventories. It has been corrected.)