Session Highlighting and Extended Hours
Financial markets operate during specific hours called "sessions." Understanding these sessions is crucial because market behavior changes dramatically depending on which major market is open. TradingView provides tools to visualize and analyze different trading sessions.
Major Trading Sessions
The three main sessions:
- Asian Session (Tokyo) — 7:00 PM to 4:00 AM EST. Lower volatility, range-bound price action common.
- European Session (London) — 3:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST. High volatility, major moves often start here.
- American Session (New York) — 9:30 AM to 4:00 PM EST. Highest volume, especially during London/NY overlap.
Enabling Session Highlighting
TradingView offers a built-in "Sessions" indicator that highlights different trading sessions with colored backgrounds on your chart. Search for "Sessions" in the indicator search (the "fx" button) and add it to your chart. You can customize which sessions to show and what colors to use.
Extended Hours (Pre-Market & After-Hours)
For US stocks, TradingView can display pre-market (4:00 AM - 9:30 AM EST) and after-hours (4:00 PM - 8:00 PM EST) data. To enable this, click the chart settings gear icon and look for "Extended Hours" or click on the clock icon in the bottom-right of the chart.
Pro Tip
The London-New York overlap (8:00 AM - 12:00 PM EST) is typically the most volatile period of the trading day. Many significant moves and reversals occur during this window.
Key Takeaways
- Three major sessions: Asian (Tokyo), European (London), American (New York)
- The London-New York overlap is the highest volatility period
- Use the Sessions indicator to visualize different trading sessions
- Extended hours data shows pre-market and after-hours trading for US stocks
- Market behavior varies significantly between sessions