An investment manager oversees a large equity portfolio that includes both domestic and international stocks. Over the past year, the portfolio has outperformed its benchmark, which consists of a similar mix of stocks. To assess the sources of this outperformance, the investment manager conducts an attribution analysis.

The key findings from the analysis indicate that a significant portion of the excess return can be attributed to sector allocation decisions, particularly an overweight position in technology stocks, which saw substantial gains during the year. Furthermore, stock selection within the technology sector also contributed positively. However, the manager notes that the portfolio’s underweight position in the utilities sector, which performed exceptionally well, detracted from overall performance.

Based on this analysis, which of the following statements best describes the contributions to the portfolio's performance?