Sessions (Asia / London / New York)
The three major global trading time blocks, each with its own market behaviour.
The global market runs 24 hours a day on weekdays, but splits into three major sessions based on which financial hubs are open: the Asia session, the London session, and the New York session.
The Asia session usually behaves more quietly and rangier: it often serves as a reference (the night’s high/low) for the day’s moves. London brings the first real directional move, often by reaching for the liquidity built during the Asian range.
New York, which overlaps the end of the London session, historically sees the sharpest moves — it’s home to the New York Killzone, the window most closely watched by ICT traders.
How to read a day: the Asian session, quiet and narrow, builds a range that will serve as reference. London then opens and very often sweeps one of that range’s two edges — the first liquidity grab of the day. New York finally opens and delivers the main directional move, sometimes extending London, sometimes contradicting it entirely.
This sequence is not a mechanical rule, but it is a remarkably stable reading frame. Marking the Asian session high and low before the London open takes thirty seconds and immediately gives you two levels the market is likely to reach for.
The London–New York overlap, between 2.30 and 5pm Geneva time, concentrates the day’s largest volume on indices and major forex. It is the window where moves carry furthest, and therefore where an ambitious target has the best chance of being reached.
How to use it? Each session has its role. The Asian session is endured rather than traded: you watch it to build the range. London offers the first real setups, often on a sweep of the Asian edge. New York gives the widest moves, but also the most violent false starts in its first half hour.
The classic mistake: trading the Asian session with European-session expectations. Ranges are narrow, targets do not fill, and spread costs weigh proportionally far heavier.
Second trap: ignoring the economic calendar. A major release at 2.30pm can void everything structure was saying up to that point. Checking the day’s announcements is part of preparation, exactly like drawing zones.