* Asian stock markets : https://tmsnrt.rs/2zpUAr4

* Nikkei falls 0.5%, Asia ex-Japan near 16-wk low

* Yen, sovereign bonds buoyed by safe-haven bid

* Pound under pressure on reports PM May to quit

* Oil prices nurse losses as inventories build

By Wayne Cole

SYDNEY, May 23 (Reuters) - Asian shares were stuck in the red on Thursday amid worries the Sino-U.S. trade conflict was fast morphing into a technology cold war between the world's two largest economies.

Late Wednesday, Reuters reported the U.S. administration was considering Huawei-like sanctions on Chinese video surveillance firm Hikvision over the country's treatment of its Uighur Muslim minority, according to a person briefed on the matter.

After the United States placed Huawei Technologies on a trade blacklist last week, British chip designer ARM has halted relations with Huawei in order to comply with the blockade.

"For China, the key risk is that the combined effects of investment restrictions, export controls, and tariffs will rewire supply chains and weaken manufacturing investment, particularly in the technology sectors driving growth," ratings agency S&P warned in a special report.

Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.5% in early trade, while South Korea lost 0.3%.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan eased 0.01% to hover just above a 16-week trough. E-Mini futures for the S&P 500 edged down 0.17%.

Minutes of the U.S. Federal Reserve's last meeting out on Wednesday underlined its readiness to be patient on policy "for some time" given the uncertain global outlook.

The chance of a rate cut seemed to diminish as many Fed policy makers saw recent weakness in inflation as "transitory", though the latest escalation in the trade war means markets are still wagering on an eventual easing.

Yields on two-year Treasuries of 2.237% are also well below the current effective funds rate at 2.39%.

There remains no end in sight to the trade dispute. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Wednesday said it would be at least a month before the U.S. would enact proposed tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese imports as it studies the impact on American consumers.

The mood on Wall Street was cautious with the Dow ending Wednesday down 0.39%, while the S&P 500 lost 0.28% and the Nasdaq 0.45%. Shares in chipmaker Qualcomm Inc dived 10.9% after a federal judge ruled the company illegally suppressed competition in the market for smartphone chips by threatening to cut off supplies and extracting excessive licensing fees.

MORE BREXIT CHAOS

In currencies, constant trade friction saw the safe haven yen in demand again as the dollar dipped to 110.22 yen and away from the week's top of 110.67.