The Federal Reserve building is pictured in Washington, DC, U.S., August 22, 2018. REUTERS/Chris Wattie

By Siddarth S

Dec 11 (Reuters) - Most global brokerages predict the U.S. Federal Reserve will reduce interest rates in the short-term, reiterating their earlier position even as the central bank indicated that near-term cuts were unlikely.

The Fed on Wednesday delivered a 25-bp cut amid sharp divisions and dissents among central bank officials. New policymaker projections showed a median expectation for a single quarter-percentage-point cut next year, which remained unchanged from September's outlook.

In contrast, most brokerages maintained their expectations that the central bank will trim rates by a cumulative 50 basis points over two cuts in 2026, even as they differed on the timeline.

Citigroup expects the next cut in January and March, betting on weak labor market data, while Morgan Stanley predicts cuts in January and April.

The November jobs and inflation report due next week acts as a crucial catalyst for January's policy meeting.

J.P. Morgan expects the Fed to cut just one more time in January, while UBS Global Wealth Management sees a single cut in the first quarter of 2026.

March and June policy meetings have emerged as the likely months for the central bank to cut rates among strategists from Goldman Sachs, Wells Fargo and Barclays.

"In considering the extent and timing of additional adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate, the Committee will carefully assess incoming data," the rate-setting Federal Open Market Committee said in a policy statement.

Fed Chair Jerome Powell repeatedly referenced being in a strong position to wait on the next move during the press conference.

Both Barclays and Goldman viewed the policy statement as 'hawkish signals' to balance the 25-bp cut.

On the other hand, Standard Chartered maintained its stance of no cuts through next year.

"Overall, we see (Powell's) comments as having generated broad-based risk optimism rather than major changes in the expected policy path," StanChart said.

While Fed projections denote a single 25-bps cut in 2026, that could likely change, after Powell steps down in May.

U.S. President Donald Trump has been publicly criticizing Powell for not lowering interest rates more quickly and expectations have been building that White House economic adviser Kevin Hassett could replace Powell, who is seen to likely favor aggressive interest rate cuts.

Traders are expecting about 55.5 bps of cuts by end of 2026, as per data compiled by LSEG.

(Reporting by Siddarth S in Bengaluru; Editing by Harikrishnan Nair and Shailesh Kuber)