Looking more closely, leading sectors were Information Technology, Utilities, Consumer Discretionary, Financials, and Industrials while more defensive sectors like Consumer Staples and Health Care struggled to keep up with the market:
But there is more to the story of MSCI France Information Technology's outperformance-- it is mostly the result of large gains in the stock price of Alcatel Lucent:
Following years of decline and the implementation of a dramatic turnaround plan, the company's stock has surged in the last few months as it seeks to re-join the CAC 40:
Performance of other members of the sector has been mixed as they appear to be encountering areas of resistance or breaking down: