*
STOXX 600 up 0.5%
Feb 2 (Reuters) - European shares climbed on Thursday, led by technology and real-estate stocks, with focus squarely on the European Central Bank's interest rate decision a day after the Federal Reserve acknowledged its progress on curbing stubborn price pressures. The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.5% at 0806 GMT, with rate-sensitive technology and real estate stocks jumping 2.7% and 1.8%, respectively. The ECB is expected to raise its deposit rate by 50 basis points to 2.5% and pencil in more hikes in the next few months, with the only open question being how big these would be. The Bank of England is also poised to raise interest rates by 50 bps later in the day. Telecom Italia jumped 9% to the top of STOXX 600 after receiving a non-binding bid for a controlling stake in its fixed-line network from U.S. investment firm KKR . Frankfurt-listed shares of Meta Platforms Inc soared 18% on upbeat first-quarter revenue forecast and a $40-billion share buyback. Microchips supplier Infineon gained 6.8% after bumping up its 2023 outlook, while French software maker Dassault Systemes rose 4.1% on strong 2023 revenue growth forecast. (Reporting by Ankika Biswas in Bengaluru; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
