New York Midnight Open (The True Day Open)
The New York midnight open is the price printed at 00:00 New York time (ET). In ICT methodology this is the true day open, the reference price the algorithm measures the entire trading day against. Price trading above it means the day is in premium; price below it means the day is in discount. It is a single horizontal line that instantly tells you which side of the day's range you are on.
Why it works
Markets deliver price in premium and discount around a midpoint. The daily open at 00:00 New York is the cleanest available midpoint because it is set before London and New York participants arrive. Buying in deep premium and selling in deep discount is the most common reason a technically correct setup still loses — the entry was simply on the expensive side of the day.
The level comes from 00:00 NY. Apply it to every intraday chart.
Used all day, most valuable between the London open and 11:30 New York.
The checklist
- 1Mark the 00:00 New York open price on the chart.
- 2Price below the midnight open puts the day in discount — only long setups get the green light.
- 3Price above the midnight open puts the day in premium — only short setups get the green light.
- 4A sweep back through the midnight open after a London raid is the classic Judas Swing reversal.
Execution
Take your normal sweep and inverted-gap entry, but only on the side of the market the midnight open supports.
Unchanged — beyond the sweep wick of the setup you are trading.
The opposite side of the day's range, or the nearest untouched liquidity pool.
When you should not take it
- Never buy far above the midnight open just because momentum looks strong — that is chasing premium.
- Do not use the 18:00 futures session open as your day open; that is not the true day open.
- Ignore it on days where price opens and stays glued to the level; there is no clear bias to trade.