The United States is considering sanctions on Chinese surveillance firm Hikvision, a move which may further escalate US-China trade tensions.

Hikvision, with a market value of more than $US37 billion, calls itself the world's largest video surveillance gear maker.

These restrictions would limit Hikvision's ability to buy US technology, and American companies may have to obtain government approval to supply components to the Chinese firm, Bloomberg and the New York Times reported.

Its products — including closed-circuit TV products, traffic and thermal cameras, and unmanned aerial vehicles — are used in public places across China.

Hikvision's surveillance equipment is prevalent in Xinjiang, where China is facing global condemnation for its mass detention of more than 1 million ethnic Uyghur and other minority Muslim groups.

China's foreign ministry on Wednesday urged the United States to provide a fair environment for Chinese firms, in the wake of reports Hikvision could be blacklisted.

"Recently, we have repeatedly expressed China's position of opposing the United States' abuse of national power to wilfully smear and suppress other countries' companies, including Chinese companies," ministry spokesman Lu Kang said at a media briefing.

The US Department of Commerce declined to comment.

Huawei was placed on a trade blacklist last week, effectively banning US firms from doing business with the world's largest telecom network gear maker, in a major escalation of the US-China trade war.

But earlier this week, the White House temporarily granted Huawei a licence to buy US goods — until August 19 — to minimise disruption for customers.

Tech weighs on Wall Street

Fears about tit-for-tat tariffs and other retaliatory actions by the US and China hitting global growth have kept investors on edge.

In New York, the Dow Jones index closed 100 points (or 0.4 per cent) lower at 25,777.

The broader S&P 500 lost 0.3 per cent, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq index dropped 0.5 per cent.

Market snapshot at 7:55am (AEST): ASX SPI futures -0.2pc at 6,503, ASX 200 (Tuesday's close) +0.2pc at 6,511

ASX SPI futures -0.2pc at 6,503, ASX 200 (Tuesday's close) +0.2pc at 6,511 AUD: 68.81 US cents, 54.34 British pence, 61.67 euro cents, 75.91 Japanese yen, $NZ1.06

AUD: 68.81 US cents, 54.34 British pence, 61.67 euro cents, 75.91 Japanese yen, $NZ1.06 US: Dow Jones -0.4pc at 25,777, S&P 500 -0.3pc at 2,856, Nasdaq -0.5pc at 7,751

US: Dow Jones -0.4pc at 25,777, S&P 500 -0.3pc at 2,856, Nasdaq -0.5pc at 7,751 Europe: FTSE 100 +0.1pc at 7,334, DAX +0.2pc 12,169, CAC -0.1pc at 5,378, Euro Stoxx 50 flat at 3,387

Europe: FTSE 100 +0.1pc at 7,334, DAX +0.2pc 12,169, CAC -0.1pc at 5,378, Euro Stoxx 50 flat at 3,387 Commodities: Brent crude -1.8pc at $US70.91/barrel, spot gold flat at $US1,273.53/ounce

Weighing heavily on the US technology sector was Qualcomm — a major supplier of modem chips for smartphones including Apple's iPhone — which saw its stocks plunge 10.9 per cent.

A US federal judge ruled the chipmaker illegally suppressed competition in the market for smartphone chips by threatening to cut off supplies and extracting excessive licensing fees.

"Qualcomm's licensing practices have strangled competition" in parts of the chip market for years, harming rivals, smartphone makers, and consumers, Judge Lucy Koh wrote in a 233-page decision.

She ordered the San Diego-based company to renegotiate licensing agreements at reasonable prices, without threatening to cut off supplies, and ordered it be monitored for seven years to ensure its compliance.

Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve released the minutes of its latest meeting — during which officials agreed their patient approach to setting monetary policy could remain in place "for some time".

The Fed minutes had little impact on Wall Street's major indexes.

"I don't think the Fed is a major consideration for the market right now," said Robert Phipps, a director at Per Stirling Capital Management.

"There are times when geopolitical factors overwhelm everything else, and we believe this is increasingly one of those times.

"The Fed meeting took place before the [US-China] trade deal blew up."

ABC/Reuters