At 12.30pm, the key index was down 6.53 points to 1,621.46.
"We believe the overnight declines on the Nasdaq may spillover to the broader market and tech sector today.
"Meanwhile on Brent oil and crude palm oil prices, both have performed a significant pullback after hitting their respective peaks, which may set a negative tone for the energy sector as well," said Malacca Securities Research its pre-market-open report.
Crude oil prices were routed in the previous session, with Brent closing nearly 7% lower at US$63.28 a barrel.
On Friday, the benchmark index of international crude oil prices rebounded a mere 0.2% to US$63.48 a barrel.
The sharp fall triggered a sell-off in energy stocks globally. The Bursa Malaysia Energy Index was down 2.45% as at midday.
Among the blue chips, the decline was led by Press Metal
down 16 sen to RM10, MISC falling 12 sen to RM6.85 and Public Bank dropping three sen to RM4.25.Other laggards included Petronas Chemicals shedding five sen to RM8.15 and IHH sliding four sen to RM5.31.
On the broader market, top losers were MPI down RM1.20 to RM37.10, Heineken sliding RM1.02 to RM25.56 and F&N falling 68 sen to RM30.86.
Of actives, Macpie jumped 29.5 sen to 59 sen, Widad lost two sen to 61.5 sen and Cuscapi rose five sen to 31 sen.
In Asian markets, rising bond yields from inflation fears and the overnight slump in tech counters sent indices lower.
Japan's Nikkei was down 1.1% and South Korea's Kospi dropped 0.8%. In China, the composite index slid 1% while Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 1.55%. Australia's ASX200 fell 0.6%.