UPDATE 2-European shares rise for fourth straight week; Spain's BBVA jumps

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* COVID-19 cases in Germany surpass one million
* Spain's BBVA and Sabadell end merger talks
* EU & UK say "substantial differences" over Brexit
* Euro zone economic sentiment drops first time in 7 months

(Updates to close)
By Shriya Ramakrishnan and Shashank Nayar
Nov 27 (Reuters) - European shares gained for a fourth
straight week on Friday as investors looked past near-term virus
damage and hoped for a quicker economic revival next year, while
Spanish lender BBVA gained after ending merger talks with Banco
Sabadell.
The pan-European STOXX 600 .STOXX ended 0.4% higher and
added 0.93% for the week, with tech .SX8P and banks .SX7P
leading gains, while energy stocks .SXEP were the top gainers
for the week on rising oil prices.
BBVA BBVA.MC gained 4.2% and was among the top gainers on
the benchmark index. Banco Sabadell shares SABE.MC fell 13%,
as the merger failure is expected to add pressure on the lender,
which was seen as the weaker link in the potential transaction.
The two banks had looked for a deal to create Spain's
second-biggest domestic bank.
"Investors have looked past the near-term risks and placed
their bets on faster economic growth next year with the market
turning more bullish even at the slightest of ease in
restrictions coupled with expectations of more stimulus in case
things go wrong," ETX Capital analyst Michael Baker said.
The STOXX 600 index has gained 40% since a
coronavirus-driven slump in March and was set to end its best
month on record, but rising infections in some European
countries have capped gains.
The number of infections in Germany surpassed the one
million mark and the daily death toll hit a record high on
Friday, while lawmakers announced plans to almost double the
borrowing for next year to fight the pandemic. A survey by the European Commission showed euro zone
economic sentiment fell in November for the first time in seven
months as a second COVID-19 wave struck the continent.

British mid-caps .FTMC were the worst performers for the
week and the only index among its European peers that recorded
losses as the end-of-year deadline for a Brexit trade deal
looms, while France's CAC 40 .FCHI and Italy's FTSE MIB
.FTMIB were the top gainers.
The European Union and Britain said there were still
substantial differences over a trade deal with just five weeks
left until the United Kingdom finally exits the EU's orbit.
France's benchmark CAC 40 index .FCHI gained 0.8% as the
country reported another drop in infections and
hospitalisations. British drugmaker AstraZeneca AZN.L reversed losses to
rise 0.3% as Britain and other countries pressed for a possible
rollout even as experts raised questions about the results of
its late-stage vaccine study.