A stock that is believed to be a leading indicator of the direction of a sector, industry or market as a whole. Bellwether stocks are often used to determine the direction in which an industry or market is headed in the short term.



Bellwether stocks are typically large-cap equities that when performing well signal a bullish market but when performing poorly may signal a bearish market. Many different stocks may be classified as bellwethers; however, shipping and rail stocks have historically been particularly good bellwethers for the U.S. economy.