Will there ever be a second round of $1,200 stimulus checks?

Here’s why the fate of those payments is still uncertain

(KYMA, KECY, CNN) -- Wall Street is tumbling on Monday as coronavirus, Washington intransigence and earnings weigh on the market.

US stocks sank at the opening bell in New York, and the selloff gathered pace as the session went on.

Congressional Republicans and Democrats and President Donald Trump have all touted the possibility of second $1,200 stimulus checks.

But months into negotiations, the prospect of more one-time payments remains elusive.

Around midday, the Dow was down 820 points, or 2.9%. Not a single Dow stock was in the green. At this rate, the index is on track for its worst day since June.

The S&P 500 -- the broadest measure of the US stock market -- fell 2.3%, on pace for the S&P's worst day since late September.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, which had briefly bounced back from its lows in the morning, dropped 2% around midday, putting it on track for the worst day since the start of the month.

Energy, industrials and financials stocks are the among the worst performers of the day.

There's a lot for investors to grapple with: The election is only eight days away, there's still no new stimulus package and the first look at how the economy fared in the third quarter will be reported on Thursday. Big Tech companies will report earnings this week as well, including Microsoft, Apple, Google, Facebook and Twitter.

While earnings will inject volatility in the tech sector, "on a more macro level, ongoing US stalemate over US fiscal stimulus and the rapidly spreading Covid-19 is going to determine the direction for the wider markets," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst at Think Markets, in a note.

The ever-slimming chance of a new stimulus package before next week's election isn't a new factor for the market. And yet, it has been a big driver of the action over the past weeks, even as nothing has really changed as a result of recent negotiations. It shows just how important the recovery is for the market.

On top of that, Covid-19 infections are rising rapidly across Europe, where governments have brought back restrictions to stave off the spreading once again.

All of this is creating a cocktail of uncertainty that the market doesn't like one bit, and Wall Street opened lower.

European markets finished in the red across the board.