– This is the script of CNBC's news report for China's CCTV on February 23, Thursday.
Welcome to CNBC Business Daily, I'm Qian Chen.
The Federal Open Market Committee discussed at length the impact from lower taxes and regulations and higher domestic spending under President Donald Trump, according to minutes of the Jan. 31-Feb. 1 session.
The meeting was the first since Trumptook office, during which the president's name was never mentioned, but the broad brushes of his agenda show up often.
Members reported hearing higher levels of confidence in the business community. And they predicted that the expected increase in economic growth related to Trump's policy proposals could push the Fed into action.
"Many participants expressed the view that it might be appropriate to raise the federal funds rate again fairly soon" if data on jobs and inflation are "in line with or stronger than their current expectations," or if the risk increased that the Fed might overshoot its goals, the meeting summary stated.
[Loretta J. Mester, President and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland] "That said there is some uncertainty about what kind of policy changes the new administration is going to enact. And they're saying we don't have details of the tax changes that it is being are being proposed. So there is uncertainty around that. I wouldn't say that's the driving force of the policy path. Now that's one of the factors that we have to take into account fiscal policy potential fiscal policy changes and their impact. But the devil is in the details on that. That's what the policy package looks like. You know we have to look at that and see those details before we'll be able to assess the impact potential impact on the timing of those impact."
The minutes show the committee noted "substantial uncertainty" about what changes would come, though the expectation was for a more growth-oriented agenda.
Others cautioned that the policies and whether they will be implemented are still unknowns, and the meeting concluded without action on rates, which is what the market expected.
One example of the policy dilemma was "upside risks" that would come with "more expansionary fiscal policy or a more rapid buildup of inflationary pressures," as well as the downside risks of an appreciating U.S. dollar.
The U.S. Treasury yield curve flattened slightly following the minutes' release.
Stock indexes closed mixed, with the DOW continuing its 9th day winning streak and set another record high - something it has not done since 1987.
Besides, U.S. home resales surged to a 10-year high in January as buyers shrugged off higher prices and mortgage rates, a sign of growing confidence in the economy.
The next FOMC meeting will be held between March 14 to 15.
CNBC's Qian Chen, reporting from Singapore.