Bellwether

A stock that is believed to indicate, or lead, the general trend of the stock market.

A bellwether stock usually peaks before the broad market peaks, but may not bottom before the broad market bottoms. Some of these stocks may be fashionable for one market cycle, i.e. dotcoms, and fade into obscurity during future market cycles.

Jesse Livermore emphasized the importance of watching bellwether stocks in “Reminiscences of a Stock Operator”.