[carter]

Quick question regarding the opening range for the S&P 500 futures. Is this released right before the open? Is this available only for floor traders? I have learned of several strategies using the opening range but can not seem to find anywhere that would provide such information.

[bakrob99]

It is one of the data points that Ben of tradersaudio.com makes a point in providing.

OK, Bakrob. But what exactly IS it?

[bh_trade]

Quite simply, the opening range is the highest price and the lowest price traded from the open to X minutes later. Many people look at 15min opening range, others 30,60,etc. It is only known after the fact, nobody can predict the opening range before it happens. But you are correct Carter, many *react* later in the morning to opening range breakouts.

[bakrob99]

What I'm talking about is the price that the market will open at ... which is NOT necessarily where it closed.

[nickm001]

The explanation that I heard is that floor traders talk about "Opening range" that refers to just the few ticks range that market opened at. It can be approximated closely as first minute bar range.

[darthtrader]

ahh now i'm confused, i started reading toby crabel's book the other day and ran across dr. Brett's blog post about ORB tonight also. Surfing around i found some mention that Crabel's orb strategies worked better when the pitt use to call out the opening range? I was assuming they didnt do that anymore, are these basically 2 different things? The old opening range that was a specific time frame to now its just a few ticks?

[darthtrader]

i found what i read, it was a link dr. brett gave to the trad2win board.
"Before electronic exchanges there was an actual 'opening range' that was published on some exchanges to give 'off the floor' an idea of the 'moods' at the opening. Wide opening range could portend wilder days, narrow range could signal not much happening. The size of trades at the open were watched closely also.

Since the advent of electronic and 24 X 7 markets, each trader is pretty much left to create his own 'Open'. and I don't believe that first few official minutes are as telling anymore because traders can now truly act 'before the bell' and enter many small orders to implement large trades 'around' the open etc.

So, for Crabel, etc kinds of Breakout work, the Open can now just be the one first tick. (that unfortunately you must now disignate). For example, I use times that are on average 1 1/2 hour earlier than the official opening for US indexes, bonds, and currencies for some techniques. You could do all kinds of work on how markets are 'passed off' internationally, (rolling openings?). because there is no true opening anymore and the remnants of the old openings will most likely fade even more in the coming years as the 'globe' gets more involved."