Asian shares were mixed early in Friday trade after the greenback gave back some gains overnight as markets digested prospects for US tax reform. Markets in Asia also digested a raft of data out of Japan.

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The Nikkei 225 shed 0.19 percent in early trade after the dollar rally paused overnight. The US currency, however, inched higher against the yen following the release of a raft of economic data early in the session. The greenback traded at 112.56 at 8:12 a.m. HK/SIN, up from levels around 112.4 earlier, but below the 113 touched during Asian trade on Thursday.

Across the Korean Strait, the Kospi tacked on 0.45 percent as most manufacturing and oil stocks posted gains. Automakers were also moderately higher.

Down Under, the S&P/ASX 200 was mostly unchanged. The index traded higher by 0.04 percent as gains in materials and gold stocks were offset by losses in energy names.

The dollar lost some steam on Thursday after surging on optimism following the release of the GOP's tax reform plans on Wednesday. The plan called for a lower corporate tax rate and would cut the highest individual income tax rate. Criticism, however, arose over how the plan was skewed toward the wealthy, while questions remained over how the tax cuts would be funded.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of rivals, stood at 93.183 by 8:04 a.m. HK/SIN after climbing as high as 93.666 overnight.

The pullback in the US currency was likely due to the "reality check setting in that the road to reform will be a long and winding trek — and an extremely bumpy one at that based on the current GOP squabbling," said Stephen Innes, APAC head of trading at OANDA, in a note.

US stocks closed higher as investors weighed recently announced tax reform plans. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.18 percent, or 40.49 points, to close at 22,381.20 and the small-cap Russell 2000 finished the session at a record 1,488.79.

Meanwhile, Kansas City Fed President Esther George, a non-voting member this year, said on Thursday that continued, gradual interest rate hikes were appropriate for economic expansion, Reuters said.

Back in Asia, investors also digested the release of economic data out of Japan: August core consumer prices rose 0.7 percent compared with one year ago, marking an eighth consecutive month of yearly increases, according to Reuters. Retail sales increased 1.7 percent last month compared with the previous year, missing a median estimate for a 2.6 percent rise, Reuters said.

Industrial production data, however, beat forecasts. August figures showed an increase of 2.1 percent compared with the previous month, above the 1.9 percent median forecast, Reuters said.

In corporate news, Toshiba on Thursday signed an agreement to sell its memory chip unit to a group led by Bain Capital for 2 trillion yen (USD 18 billion). Still, the saga has yet to conclude: Western Digital, which is involved in a joint venture with the Japanese conglomerate, has sought an injunction to prevent Toshiba from selling the unit. Toshiba stock was up 0.98 percent in early trade.

On the energy front, oil clawed back gains after sliding around 1 percent overnight. US crude futures rose 0.04 percent to trade at USD 51.58 a barrel and global benchmark Brent crude advanced 0.35 percent to trade at USD 57.61.

Brent had climbed to a 26-month high of USD 59.49 earlier this week following a threat by Turkey to shut down an oil pipeline following an independence referendum in the semiautonomous Kurdish region.