U.S. stocks closed mostly flat after a comprehensive tax bill was passed stateside ahead of Asia’s Thursday trading day. Meanwhile, investors in Asia awaited the Bank of Japan’s monetary policy decision later in the day for clues on future policy.

Stateside, House Republicans voted for a second time to pass a tax plan on Wednesday, after their first vote on the bill ran into a procedural snag. The Senate had approved the bill in the early hours of Wednesday.

The bill now goes to President Donald Trump’s desk to be signed into law, although the exact timing of that ceremony is unclear. Trump on Wednesday said cutting corporate taxes was “probably the biggest factor” of the legislation and that it was “above all else a jobs bill.”

Among the sweeping changes included in the tax plan are provisions that would reduce the corporate tax rate from 35 percent to 21 percent and temporarily trim the tax burden on most individuals.

U.S. stocks closed little changed following the vote, having run up in the sessions leading up to the passage of the bill.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed lower by 0.11 percent, or 28.10 points, at 24,726.65. The Nasdaq composite and S&P 500 finished the session with losses below 0.1 percent.

Following the vote, the dollar traded lower against a basket of currencies, with the dollar index at 93.354 at 6:52 a.m. HK/SIN. Against the yen, however, the greenback rose to trade at 113.34, its highest level in more than a week.

In Japan, futures pointed to stocks opening a touch lower. Nikkei futures traded in Chicago were 0.18 percent lower at 22,850, and Osaka futures were off 0.27 percent at 22,830.

Markets in the region also awaited the Bank of Japan’s policy decision later in the day. The central bank is expected to hold steady on monetary policy.

Over in Australia, the S&P/ASX 200 edged down by 0.26 percent in early trade.

On the commodities front, oil prices crept higher on Wednesday after government data showed U.S. crude inventories declined by 6.5 million barrels in the week that ended Dec. 15, an amount that was above the projected fall.

Brent crude tacked on 76 cents to settle at $64.56 per barrel and U.S. West Texas Intermediate rose 53 cents to settle at $58.09.

Here’s the economic calendar for Thursday (all times in HK/SIN):

• 11:30 a.m.: Thailand November trade data
• 4:30 a.m.: Hong Kong inflation rate
• 5:00 p.m.: Taiwan central bank interest rate decision
• The Bank of Japan is also expected to make its interest rate decision during the day

— CNBC’s Jacob Pramuk contributed to this report.