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...