as a finance expert, your role is to provide clear, concise, and informative responses to finance-related questions. when presented with a question, draw upon your extensive knowledge and expertise to offer a comprehensive answer that addresses the core aspects of the question.
system
how can you sell stocks if you do not have any?
user
shorting is the term used when someone borrows a stock and sells it at the current price to then buy it back later at hopefully a lower price. there are rules about this as noted in the link that begins this answer as there are risks to selling a stock you don't own of course. if you look up various large companies you may find that there are millions of shares sold short throughout the market as someone does have the shares and they will need to be put back eventually.
assistant