Until I acclimate to the different time zones, I’m using a Session Open indicator (ICT’s). Today I downloaded one that places a vertical line at each Session Open and now I’ve got more trouble.
I’m struggling to figure out the clock at the bottom of MT4 and how it coincides with GMT or even individual Time Zones and now it’s worse. Can someone look at my chart and tell me if ICT’s Asian Open indicator is off, or if the times indicated for the Asian Open, the London Open and the New York Open are off?
The Dark Green Vertical Line is the Asian Open, The Blue Vertical Line is the London Open and the Magenta Line is the New York open…
EDIT: I changed the attachment to a .jpg. Hopefully it’s clearer. If not, here’s a photobucket link to the image:
Hi daydreamer and thanks. It seems this should be far easier but I guess it is what it is. Sorry for the illegible chart - My GMT is -8, I believe… West Coast, U.S. I checked with the "Help>about in my Oanda MT4 platform and it says they’re based in New York so it looks like the time on the bottom of the chart is delineated in Military Time for New York. Not GMT for New York - and that’s part of what is confusing me… Too many ways of stating time in a location (then add DST)
I’m trying to get this [I]exactly[/I] right. I need to know [I]exactly[/I] when trading starts at any given major market (their time and my time). I see chart activity at times when I thought the markets should be closed and other details.
I use this to tell me what time market hours are. Just enter enter where you are and it tells you the times of session opens according to your watch. Then just wait for that time to approach and then you can play with the indi to get the lines in the right spot.
It does take a little bit of thought & time (no pun intended) to work out this
problem. Especially when brokers’ times are all over the place, some on
NY time, European time, Outer Mongolian time etc. (nothing against Outer Mongolia)
plus all the seasonal time changes!!!
But once you find the answer it is with you for good.
Your time zone in L.A. is GMT-8 [B] — before daylight saving time adjustment.[/B]
Currently (until early November) [B]your time zone is Pacific Daylight Time, PDT=GMT-7.[/B]
You used to have it displayed correctly in the header of your posts. Then, I guess, you started to over-think it.
There is no “exact” opening and closing time in any forex market.
In that regard, it’s very much like the real estate market —
— you wouldn’t ask, [I]“When, exactly, does the real estate market open in Los Angeles each day?”[/I]
Here’s a copy-and-paste from a recent post, which might help explain this —
[B]Trading session times are merely indications of peak volume times.[/B] Trading does not abruptly begin at the designated “opening” time, and then abruptly end at the designated “closing” time.
In every forex market, there is light-volume trading in the overnight period. Then, volume rises dramatically in the early morning, fluctuates somewhat throughout the day, and falls off ripidly in the late afternoon.
The high volume period each day, in each market, basically coincides with the normal business day in that market. But, there is no “opening bell” to signal the exact moment when the trading session begins; and there is no “closing bell” to signal the exact moment when the trading session ends.
I hate doing time math. For some reason my brain just does not work in 12 or 24 base math.
Here is an indicator I use if you set the offset correctly it will display your local time across the bottom of your chart. If you set 12hr to true it will count up to 12 twice a day. it only shows the hour.
I know at what time (my local time) that all the sessions start. I find this is the best no brain way for me to see what happened during each session.
Pacific Standard, Eastern Standard, Japan Standard and GMT +/- (x+2)(x-2)… 