What's the status of a second $1,200 stimulus check?

Hopes that lawmakers in Washington could reach agreement on a fresh round of COVID-19 relief before the presidential election are all but extinguished. Senators adjourned on Monday and are not scheduled to return until November 9, impeding progress on a new stimulus bill.

Shares fell Monday as Congress failed to find a breakthrough and as investors fretted over an ongoing surge in coronaavirus cases around the United States. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi last week had offered a more positive outlook, saying she and Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin were "just about there," according to Bloomberg News.

Although House Democrats and the Trump administration had narrowed their differences over another stimulus package — with the latest proposal approaching $2 trillion, including $1,200 stimulus checks and an extension of enhanced federal unemployment benefits — numerous Senate Republicans had made clear their opposition to the size of the package. Mnuchin told CNBC earlier this month that "a deal would be hard to get done before the election."