Shares in JD Sports, Wickes, Pets at Home and Tesco have jumped by 14% or more in a month, but Deutsche Bank analysts say trading probably doesn't justify the gains.
JD Sports, the trainer retailer, led the way with a 15% rise, even though the bank said it had seen "no real improvement" in performance.
Pets at Home, the pet supplies chain, gained 14%, despite likely seeing slower sales growth against tougher comparisons with last year.
The analyst team, led by Adam Cochrane, said investors had been asking how much of the recent strength in UK retail was based on fundamentals.
They noted that the less popular stocks had performed better than those already widely held by investors.
The rally is not confined to Britain, with Zalando, the German online fashion retailer, up 20% and Puma, the sportswear brand, up 18%.
Where trading has improved
The bank said the strongest gains had come where underlying trading had improved.
Wickes, the DIY chain, and Dunelm, the homewares retailer, reported better recent sales, although some of this may reflect spending delayed by the warm summer.
B&M, the discount chain, has probably seen an improvement in like-for-like sales, which strip out the effect of new stores, and investors have warmed to its new chief executive.
Next has upgraded its forecasts, but its shares have lagged because it was already popular with investors.
The bank said the UK budget had been a non-event for retailers.
It downgraded Sainsbury's, the supermarket group, to hold last week, and its shares fell 2%.
Results week
Several big names report results this week.
Deutsche Bank expects Marks & Spencer to report a 24% fall in first-half pre-tax profit to £392 million on Wednesday.
It said the key question was whether M&S could keep its full-year profit outlook despite cost pressures.
The bank forecasts a 13.5% drop in operating profit to £1.5 billion at AB Foods, the owner of Primark, which reports on Tuesday.
It does not expect Next to raise its £1.255 billion full-year profit guidance, although stronger international sales could add £10 million to £15 million.
ASOS, the online fashion retailer, is expected to report a loss of £134 million.
Tesco deal
The analysts also highlighted Tesco's sale of its Czech and Slovak businesses, with about £1 billion of proceeds to be returned to shareholders through a share buyback.
They described the deal as a small positive that simplifies the group around its UK and Ireland operations.
