Europe Markets Inch Higher On Tech Shares

(AHN) - European shares rose slightly Tuesday on word of a stronger dollar and a temporary halt in oil's nearly continuous price increases.

At mid-morning, the pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 was unchanged at 318.39.

In national indexes, London's FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent at 6,090 while Germany's DAX 30 gained 0.3 percent at 6,971 and France's CAC-40 slipped 0.2 percent.

A slowdown in oil prices sent energy stocks lower, as mining company Rio Tinto fell and oil producer BP both fell 1 percent .

Conversely, a stronger dollar improved tech stocks with supplier Alcatel-Lucent gaining 3.7 percent and chip company Infineon Technologies inching up 0.1 percent. Infineon announced Tuesday its CEO will step down.