Understanding the session windows

The ICT Silver Bullet strategy is built around specific moments of the trading day when institutional order flow is at its highest. Understanding why these windows exist — and what makes them different — is the foundation of trading this strategy correctly.

Why session opens matter

At the open of each major market session, institutional traders — banks, funds and large operators — place their biggest orders. This surge of activity creates a defined opening range as price moves to find liquidity. Once that range is established, the breakout from it represents the direction that institutions have chosen for that session.

The ICT Silver Bullet concept identifies this window as a high-probability entry opportunity. The APEX indicator captures the opening range of each session and watches for the first confirmed breakout candle.

The four session windows

European Open — 08:00 UK

Frankfurt and other European exchanges open at 08:00 UK time. This is the start of the European trading day and often sets the directional tone for the morning. Liquidity is building but not yet at its peak — signals here can be strong on forex pairs like EURUSD, GBPUSD and indices like the FRA40 and DAX.

• Range forms: 08:00 — 09:00 UK
• Signal window: 09:00 — 14:00 UK (5 hours)
• Best instruments: EUR and GBP pairs, European indices

London Open — 09:00 UK

London is the largest forex trading centre in the world. The 09:00 open brings the highest volume of the European session and often produces the cleanest breakout setups. This is the most widely traded Silver Bullet window and typically gives the strongest signals.

• Range forms: 09:00 — 10:00 UK
• Signal window: 10:00 — 15:00 UK (5 hours)
• Best instruments: All major forex pairs, UK and European indices

New York Open — 15:30 UK

The New York open at 15:30 UK (10:30 ET) overlaps with the London afternoon session, creating the highest liquidity period of the trading day. This is when the largest forex volumes trade. The NY Silver Bullet window is highly active and can produce strong moves — but it also has the highest volatility so risk management is critical.

• Range forms: 15:30 — 16:30 UK
• Signal window: 16:30 — 21:30 UK (5 hours)
• Best instruments: USD pairs, US indices (US30, NAS100, SPX500), gold
• DST note: Changes to 14:30 UK during US DST weeks in March

Asia / Australia Open — 23:50 UK

The Asia / Australia session opens just before midnight UK time, marking the start of the Asian trading session. Volume is lower than the European and NY sessions so signals tend to be smaller in magnitude — but they can be clean and consistent on AUD pairs, Asian indices and gold during quieter periods.

• Range forms: 23:50 — 00:50 UK (crosses midnight)
• Signal window: 00:50 — 05:50 UK (5 hours)
• Best instruments: AUD and JPY pairs, gold, Asian indices
• Note: Disabled by default — enable in settings if you trade overnight

The opening range — what to look for on the chart

When a session starts, APEX draws a coloured box on the chart covering that session's one-hour opening window. The top of the box is the session high and the bottom is the session low. These are the key levels to watch.

During the session hour, the box expands as price moves — tracking the highest high and lowest low reached. When the session hour closes, the box locks in and two dotted extension lines project the high and low forward for 5 hours, showing the levels that matter for the rest of the signal window.

What makes a valid range

Not all opening ranges are created equal. The cleanest signals come from sessions where:

• The range is relatively tight — a well-defined consolidation rather than a wide chaotic range
• Price has been respecting the range boundaries during the session hour — touching the high and low clearly
• There is a clear directional bias building — for example, multiple attempts at the high before the eventual breakout
• No major news event has distorted the range with a spike