Latin American stocks, including ESG shares, lead after first quarter

Despite trade rhetoric and climate hostility from the U.S., market is up

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(Michael Molinski is a senior economist at Trendline Economics. He’s worked for Fidelity, Charles Schwab and Wells Fargo, and previously as a foreign correspondent and editor for Bloomberg News and MarketWatch.)

NEW YORK (Callaway Climate Insights) — With the exception of some countries in Europe, Latin American stocks are beating most of the world this year, despite President Donald Trump’s rhetoric to start a trade war and to withdraw from the UN Paris Climate Agreement.

Banks, utilities and consumer staples are leading the way. It has nothing to do with trade or politics but rather, it’s because of an expected slowdown in the economies of the region.

Coincidentally, most of those companies are rated highly on MSCI’s ESG ratings. Latin America’s economic growth is forecast to be 2.4% in 2025, slightly higher than last year but still below the global average, according to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC).