It was an odd day turn positive on the retail sector given the latest monthly sector data undershot expectations - ostensibly because of the poor summer to date.
However, Deutsche Bank decided the time was right to go on the front foot with a review of Britain's listed shopkeepers that included a slew of recommendation upgrades.
It cited strong income growth, improved consumer confidence, political stability, and controlled inflation as underpinning its positivity.
The bank's analysis of UK discretionary spending shows that income growth, excluding interest income, is up by 4.6%.
Among the upgrades, AO World PLC (LSE:AO.) saw its target price rise from 120p to 135p, Currys PLC (LSE:CURY) from 80p to 95p, Kingfisher PLC (LSE:KGF) from 245p to 310p, and Moonpig Group PLC (LSE:MOON) from 195p to 220p. Additionally, Deutsche Bank changed its ratings for Currys, Kingfisher, and Moonpig from 'hold' to 'buy'.
Its list of 'preferred' UK retail stocks now includes companies that are more sensitive to economic cycles, such as AO World, B&M, Currys, Kingfisher, M&S, Moonpig, and Victorian Plumbing. Its least preferred stocks are AB Foods, boohoo, and JD Sports.
In late morning trading, Moonpig was up 3%, Kingfisher was ahead 1.1% and Currys nudged 0.4% higher.