Candle Close Times

Hi,

The New York session is from 8 AM to 5 PM Eastern. I know that all daily candles close at 5 PM Eastern, but I’d like to know when the 4 hr., 8 hr, etc., candles close. The 9 hour session is not a multiple of 4 or 8 so I can’t say, for example, that all 4 hour candles close at noon, 4 PM, 8 PM and 12 AM (12 is after the close) - so how can I determine when candles other than the daily close? At times there are overlaps between candle bodies and the vertical time lines on charts, so it’s not clear when the candle began to form or close. Knowing when these candles close will obviously be a good time to check possible trade entries.

Thanks

There isn’t a “right answer”.

Unlike highs and lows, which are objective and factual, opens and closes (other than for session-time, of course) are [I]subjective and user-defined[/I].

They open and close when your software tells them to open and close. And you tell your software when you want them to open and close. :wink:

There’s a “default setting”, which will be the one you have to use if you don’t change it, but those default settings also vary.

The last three charting packages I’ve used have taken their “starting points” for the “day” (and therefore defined the 4-hourly cycle for 4-hour bars) as 00.00 hours GMT, 00.00 EST and 23.00 hours EST (“go figure”).

Use tools how [B]you[/B] want them to work. Be the boss - it’s [B]your[/B] business.

you got it right.

the easy answare: the last 4 hours candle of every trading day is in fact only a 3 hours candle. and the last 8 hours candle is in fact a 7 hours candle. at least in commodities and stocks. forex is 24 hours trading so the candles fit 6 times 4 hours 3 times 8 hours.

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Thank you, TurboNero.

Yours is exactly the kind of answer I was hoping for - numbers - but I am still left with questions. Given: The New York session lasts nine hours and the forex day last 24 hours. On the one hand, for example, you say that the last 4-hour candle is really a 3-hour candle - but that doesn’t fit perfectly into the 9-hour New York session (2 x 4 = 8. 8 + 1 = 9). On the other hand you say that 6 x 4 hours = a 24 hour day; so if you’re saying that 6 4-hour candles fit into a 24 hour day, please explain where the 4-hour candle which is really a 3-hour candle fits in. And how can the last 8-hour candle be a 7-hour candle: (8, 16, 24: perfect for a 24-hour day, but not for a 9-hour New York session)?

Thanks again,
Norm

Hi Lexys,

It’s hard for me to believe that there isn’t a right answer. Perhaps you didn’t understand my question. The New York session ends at 5 PM Eastern independent of any software traders may use, and that’s the time many traders look for setups. Do daily candles close at one time in New York, later in Chicago, etc.? No. A satellite may land on the moon at different times of day in different cities, but it only lands on the moon once - and it’s that “once” that I’m looking for concerning candle closes: 2-hr., 4-hr., etc.

Look at TurboNero’s response. That’s the kind of answer I’m looking for: solid numbers. Also, thank you for your encouraging words, but I wasn’t at all in need of them.

Norm

Hi,

[B]I FOUND SOME CLEAR, SOLID ANSWERS[/B] after MUCH research on the net and posting in BBP forums. Here they are:
SEE CLINT’S SECOND POST AT: (301 Moved Permanently)
SEE CLINT’S AND JASON’S POSTS AT: (301 Moved Permanently)
SEE CLINT AT: (301 Moved Permanently)
SEE CLINT’S SECOND POST AT: (301 Moved Permanently).

Happy reading,
Norm

sorry for my late response i did not see your post before now.

im reffering to stocks and commodities trading (and all their trading methodes and channels)

its the time zone of the pacific ocean where there are no stock exchanges (only water no country) so the trading day of the world is 23 hours. new york closes as last and 1 hour later new zealand opens its stock exchange (1 hour lacking) depending on what charts you look your opening hours will differ but it should all have the same times for opening 4/6/8/12 hours candles.

even if its 3 am in new york it doesnt mean theres no trading. in china/japan etc people are trading us based stocks from dow and nasdaq. these trades go in as futures into the nasdax and thoe stocks and the dow and therefore when new york opens at 9am local time the prices differs from the closing prices of the day before. and the last 4 hours candle of the day is in fact a 3 hours candle because in the pacific the first stock exchange that opems for business is new zealand a hour after new york closed.

charting particurarly isnt done one one specific opening time of one specific stock exchange. the chart starts at exactly 00:00 central european time (paris frankfurt amsterdam milano) and from there a 4 hours candle is beeing calculated. so when new york opens the first 4 hours candle of the day can already be 1 hours old when your broker shows it to you (therefore opening gaps)

butvthat all is only a sidewalk. the important times you need to know are the opening times of europe (frankfurt paris london all opening at the same time) and new york. those are the volatile minutes/hours in which a lot of movement comes together. asia you can skip since 85% of the worlds capital is concentrated in europe and usa anyways and thats where the big money is moving.

this thou is not valid for forex as forex is a 24 hours market.

i hope this helped you.

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Thank you, TurboNero, for your very thorough and clarifying response, and I’ll go over it again very carefully. If I would have read your initial response more carefully, I would have seen that the first part referred to stocks.

With appreciation,
Norm