Reuters GraphicsThe broader STOXX 600 (.STOXX) is up by 7% this year, meaning retailers are outperforming by the most on record.
The snag is that this stellar run has been partly built on investors unwinding bearish bets, or short positions, on retail stocks, after last year's pessimism proved overdone.
This means retail stocks might not see as many willing buyers as earlier this year.
Jones expects retail stocks to fall in the second half of the year.
JPMorgan downgraded the grocery retail sector this month and flagged the prospect of price declines going into 2024.
Persons:
Inditex, unwinding, Benjamin Jones, Jones, Florian Ielpo, Ielpo, WH Smith, Alexandre Bompard, LSEG, Joice Alves, Amanda Cooper, Tomasz Janowski
Organizations:
Reuters, Macro, Multi, Management, Carrefour, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Thomson
Locations:
Zara, bullish, LSEG, Britain