US Session Cheatsheet: Trading the New York Open

A quick playbook for navigating the most liquid and volatile trading window—the US session overlap and NYSE open.

Why the US session matters

The New York session (8:00 AM–5:00 PM ET) overlaps with London for the first 4 hours, creating the heaviest global liquidity. Indices, USD pairs, gold, oil, and crypto often see their biggest daily moves during this window.

What to watch at the open

Index futures: S&P 500, NASDAQ, Dow futures set tone before cash open.
Bond yields: Treasuries influence USD and equities via rate expectations.
DXY: Dollar strength/weakness drives most FX pairs.
Commodities: Oil and gold react quickly to US macro flows.
Crypto: BTC and ETH often move with risk sentiment in US hours.

Volatility bursts

Expect sharp moves at:

8:30 AM ET: Economic releases (NFP, CPI, jobless claims, GDP).
9:30 AM ET: NYSE open — equities gap and rebalance.
2:00 PM ET: Fed announcements or minutes when scheduled.

Common setups

Breakout continuation: Join moves when strong macro data aligns with prior trend.
Reversal fades: Fade extreme spikes if breadth/volume don't confirm.
News catalysts: Trade clean directional reactions to jobs, CPI, or Fed events.

How to track on finstrument.ai

Use the Markets Overview to watch indices, yields, USD, and commodities live. Switch to Economic Calendar to prep for scheduled data. Confirm sector rotations with Heatmaps.

Pro tip: Treat the first 30 minutes after the open as "price discovery"—let volatility settle before chasing moves. Then align trades with cross-asset signals.