As technology companies lead stocks higher, investors are unpacking what makes the sector tick.
Energy prices, earnings, and a move toward a more electronic society could all be pushing the sector, experts told CNBC's "Power Lunch" on Monday.
The S&P 500 information technology sector has gained nearly 11 percent so far this year, while the S&P 500 index has gained nearly 5 percent. One potential reason could be the reversal in energy prices, said Doug MacKay, founder and CEO of Broadleaf Partners, as U.S. oil has struggled to rise past $50 a barrel this summer.
"For whatever reason, as energy prices have come back down, it's a sign that perhaps the more cyclical areas of the market ... aren't as healthy, and money has kind of rotated back to areas that grow regardless of the economy or the political environment," MacKay said.
The fact that big technology companies like Apple, Microsoft and Amazon beat earnings expectations could also have ignited the expansion, said Jason Ware, chief investment officer at Albion Financial Group.
"I think the rally we've seen has been grounded in better-than-expected Q2 earnings reports," Ware said. "After the first half of the year when tech underperformed the broader market, investors were maybe getting a little bit wary after a maybe three-to four-year outpeformance in the Nasdaq. They moved to other sectors in a defensive posture, and now what we've seen with Q2 is that maybe things are a little bit better than the Street and investors at large had expected."
MacKay highlighted long-terms transformations in Apple's performance, while Ware focused on Visa.
"[Apple CEO] Tim Cook stressed the fact that the services business, the app store, a significant, almost Fortune 100-like company, growing at a significant pace," MacKay said.
While Apple's ability to push toward software and turn a profit might impress some value investors, MacKay said, Visa's strong balance sheet might appeal to others, according to Ware.
"Visa is an asset-lite technology company, when you think about the beachheads they've basically put out to dominate the transition from cash to a cashless society," Ware said.