Trading the Opening Range

How day traders use the high and low of the first minutes of trading, especially on gap days, and the risks of trading the open.

The most volatile minutes of the day

The first 15 to 30 minutes after the 9:30 a.m. Eastern open are usually the busiest and most volatile of the session, especially on gap days. Orders that built up overnight hit the market at once, and prices can swing wildly before settling down.

The opening range is the high and low of those first minutes. Many day traders mark it on their chart and treat it as the battle lines for the day.

Illustration: the opening range, a breakout above its high, and a stop at its low.

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