European stocks fell more than 2 percent on Monday amid a global sell-off in equities, with investors fretting over the spectre of tighter pandemic curbs hitting the global economy as cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant surge. The pan-European STOXX 600 was down 2.2 percent, falling to its lowest in more than two weeks. Travel, oil, and auto stocks led declines with losses of more than 3 percent, with all the major subsectors in the red. “The rate at which the virus is picking up is increasing fears that governments are going to bring in tighter restrictions which could curtail movement and hamper economic activity,” said David Madden, market analyst at CMC Markets UK. The Netherlands imposed a lockdown on Sunday, while the prospect of tighter COVID-19 measures ahead of the Christmas and New Year holidays looms large over several European countries amid the swift spread of Omicron. Madden added …