BUZZ-European retail: weakness spreading in region's worst performing sector

** European retail the only sector on the Stoxx 600 that is within 5 pct of its 52-wk low.

** Underperformance getting stark as 13 other sub-indexesare within 5 pct of their 52-wk highs.

Chart: http://link.reuters.com/jeq82w

** Retailers index down 6.4% this year with UK supermarketsthe obvious culprits. Sainsbury, Tesco and Morrison down betweena third and a quarter YTD.

** Weakness spreading in September to Booker Group,Sports Direct & Home Retail and could catch upwith Inditex which is up 12 pct in the past 5 weeks.

** Inditex, where a stock split and a relativelyhealthy dividend yield has kept investors interested, has 6 outof 10 analysts cutting quarterly EPS estimates by an average2.2% since Aug. 26.

** Marks & Spencer, whose clothes division isstruggling, has seen its price momentum weaken significantlyover the past month. Stock now ranks worse than 95% of regionalstocks per StarMine's price momentum model.

** At other end of table stand out outperformers within thegroup year-to-date - Dixons Carphone Warehouse, up 40%,Next, up 30% & Delhaize Group, up 20% -holding on to gains. (RM: vikram.subhedar.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net)