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* ECB monetary policy meeting on Thursday
* Evonik plans 2,000 job cuts in a cost cut bid
* SoftwareOne shareholders scrap agreement to sell firm to Bain
* Delivery Hero surges after it announces financing deal
March 4 (Reuters) - European shares started the week on a subdued tone as investors remained cautious ahead of the European Central Bank's monetary policy meeting later in the week, while strength in technology stocks partially offset losses in other sectors.
The pan-European STOXX 600 was up 0.1% by 9:22 GMT, scaling another record high and was less than a couple of points shy of the 500 mark. On the contrary, Germany's benchmark DAX was up 0.1%, but came off a seven-day streak of record highs.
Top performer technology index tracked a global rally in AI shares and jumped 1.1%, while the healthcare sector was up 0.7%, offsetting weakness in rate-sensitive shares.
Interest-rate dependent real estate and basic resources indexes both dropped 0.7%, leading sectoral declines, as uncertainty around rate-cut grows ahead of the ECB's monetary policy meeting.
The ECB meets on Thursday and is expected to keep rates at a record high 4%, but the central bank is also likely to lower its outlook for inflation in a nod to eventual cuts.
In the last week, data showed euro zone inflation dipped in February, but underlying price growth proved to be sticky. Another data set showed manufacturing activity continued to contract last month.
"First into the 2023 economic slowdown, with Germany firmly in recession, and inflation plunged to 3%, has set ECB up for more than four rate cuts this year," said analysts at eToro.
Markets now see around 90 basis points of rate cuts this year with the first move coming in June.
In corporate updates, shares of Delivery Hero climbed 4.7%, to the top of STOXX 600 after the online takeaway food company announced a financing deal and other moves on its debt.
Evonik Industries expected no signs of a recovery in 2024 and announced up to 2,000 job cuts worldwide by 2026 in a bid to cut costs. Shares of the German chemicals group added 1.6%.
The founding shareholders of SoftwareOne have scrapped their agreement with U.S. investor Bain Capital to buy the firm, taking the shares of the Swiss IT services company down 2.7%.
Hipgnosis shed 10% to hit a record low, after steep declines in its asset valuations led the UK music investor to freeze dividend payments for the foreseeable future. (Reporting by Khushi Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Shailesh Kuber)
