Stocks remained lower at midday Monday, but recovered a bit from their plunge right after the opening bell. The three major indexes fell more than 1 percent initially.
International news seemed to weigh on the markets.
Greece's president met little enthusiasm from political leaders on Monday to avert new elections, reinforcing fears the country was on the path to bankruptcy and an exit from the euro zone. The consequences of such an event are unknown.
Concerns about a slowdown in China have been troubling investors for several months. The decision of the world's second-largest economy on Saturday to cut the amount of cash banks must hold as reserves, normally seen as a pro-growth move, suggested the country may be facing more significant headwinds.
At 12:30 p.m. Eastern, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was off 0.6 percent. The S&P was 0.7 lower and the Nasdaq was down 0.6 percent.
Reuters contributed to this report.