KUALA LUMPUR: Bursa Malaysia started the morning session in the red today, tracking the decline on overnight Wall Street performance

The FBM KLCI fell 4.75 points to 1,454.07 at 9.07 am. The index opened 3.2 points lower at 1,455.47.

TA Securities said the overnight correction on Wall Street should spillover to the region and locally amid fears further interest rate hikes from European and US central bankers will dampen the global growth outlook and may even tip the US economy into recession.

“Immediate index support remains at 1,440, with stronger supports at 1,420 and 1,400. Significant overhead resistance is at 1,500, then 1,512, with the last August high near 1,528 as stronger resistance, followed by 1,550 and 1,570 as tougher upside hurdles,” it added.

Overnight, the US market plunged as investors digested the comments from the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that suggested higher interest rates.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 574.98 points, or 1.72%, to 32,856.46, the S&P 500 lost 62.05 points, or 1.53%, to 3,986.37 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 145.40 points, or 1.25%, to 11,530.33.

Rakuten Trade expects some headwinds on stocks today following the Fed's rate commentary thus expect the index to trend between 1,450-1,460 range amid regional weaknesses.

Meanwhile, it said the oil and gas stocks should again see some selling pressure following the decline in crude oil prices attributed to inventory build-up that saw Brent crude closed US$3 lower at US$83/barrel.

Among the decliners, Malaysian Pacific Industries fell 62 sen to RM29.38, Hextar Technologies eased 54 sen to RM24.82, PETRONAS Dagangan declined 50 sen to RM20.52 and KESM slid 15 sen to RM7.85.

Ayer rose 20 sen to RM7.30, F&N added 14 sen to RM27.20, PETRONAS Gas gained 14 sen to RM16.66 and Catcha climbed 8.5 sen to 31 sen.