UPDATE 2-European stocks end lower as heavyweight resource players weigh

* British resource stocks weigh the most
* German Q2 GDP shrinks 9.7% q/q vs previous est. of 10.1%
drop
* Tech, travel stocks lead gains for the day

(Adds details, updates to close)
By Sruthi Shankar and Ambar Warrick
Aug 25 (Reuters) - European shares fell on Tuesday, hurt by
losses in British blue chips, while mixed economic data and
continued growth in novel coronavirus cases cut short optimism
over a possible COVID-19 treatment.
The pan-European STOXX 600 index .STOXX closed down 0.3%
as Monday's gains ran out of steam, putting the benchmark
comfortably within its trading range since mid-May.
It had gained on Monday after the United States authorised
the use of blood plasma from patients who have recovered from
COVID-19 as a treatment.
Heavyweight British resource stocks .SXEP .SXPP were
among the biggest drags on the index, due to strength in the
pound GBP= weighing on their export margins.
The STOXX 600 is still some 15% off a pre-pandemic record
high, as a recovery from March lows stalled in the face of
resurgent COVID-19 cases and sluggish economic growth. Data last
week had shown business activity faltering in the region.
"Although we expect the Euro area economy to recover rapidly
from the downturn, the scale of the output decline raises the
risk of long-lasting 'scars' to the economy's productive
capacity," Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note.
Markets had initially gained as top U.S. and Chinese trade
officials reaffirmed their commitment to the Phase 1 trade deal
despite diplomatic rifts between the two countries. The trade-sensitive German DAX .GDAXI closed flat after
data showed Europe's largest economy contracted by a record 9.7%
in the second quarter, but marked a minor upward revision from
an earlier estimate of minus 10.1%. Other data showed German business morale improved more than
expected in August. An unexpected drop in U.S. consumer confidence also weighed,
as it pointed to a likely stalling in the world's largest
economy. Among individual movers, shares of AstraZeneca AZN.L rose
0.2% after the British drugmaker said it had started testing an
antibody-based cocktail for the prevention and treatment of
COVID-19. Technology stocks .SX8P were among the biggest gainers on
the day. Aveva Group AVV.L rose 7.2% after announcing a deal
to buy OSIsoft, a privately held maker of industrial software,
for an enterprise value of $5 billion. LVMH LVMH.PA gained 0.9% after a source told Reuters the
French luxury goods giant and U.S. jewellery chain Tiffany
TIF.N will give themselves another three months to complete
their $16.2 billion tie-up. SAS SAS.ST jumped 10.1% after the airline said it was
expecting to complete a 14 billion Swedish crown ($1.60
billion) recapitalisation plan to counter the effects of the
pandemic by November. ($1 = 8.7767 Swedish crowns)