NY Open Range Break Scanner
The New York cash open at 09:30 sets the tone for many index futures traders. This scanner marks the first 15 minutes, 09:30 to 09:45 New York time, and alerts you when price closes out of that range, and again when price returns to the 09:30 opening price.
It runs on NQ, ES and their micro contracts (MNQ and MES), from the close of the 09:45 candle until noon New York time, and the time zone follows daylight saving, so the open stays at 09:30 all year.
How the scanner decides
Every rule is applied to closed one-minute candles:
- The open is the opening price of the 09:30 candle.
- The range is the highest high and lowest low from 09:30 to 09:45.
- A break is the first candle after 09:45 that closes above the range high (bullish) or below the range low (bearish). A wick through the edge that closes back inside is not a break.
- Only the first break of the day alerts.
- The retest alert fires the first time a later candle trades back to the 09:30 open price. The break candle itself never counts as the retest.
- A morning with too few candles in the first 15 minutes, such as a late feed or a halt, produces no alerts rather than a range built from a handful of candles.
What you get in the alert
The public feed shows the line, for example "MNQ 1m · Bullish NY open range broken to the upside". An alert sent to your email or Discord adds the range, the 09:30 open and the price at the break.
This scanner runs on its own one-minute candles, so the timeframe selection on your alert does not apply to it. It is separate from the ATM range sweep alerts, which use the 07:00 to 09:30 range instead.
What it cannot tell you
A break of the opening range often fails and reverses, and a return to the open price may be a pause or a reversal. The scanner marks the events and makes no claim about what follows. Alerts are informational, not trading advice.
Setting up NY open alerts
Choose "NY open range break" and, if you want the return to the open, "NY open price retest" as alert types on the Alerts page, then pick your markets.
- Choose the alert types: NY open range break and NY open price retest.
- Pick your markets (NQ, MNQ, ES, MES).
- Set a direction if you only trade one side.
- Choose email, Discord or both, then press Send test.
The alerts this scanner sends
| Alert | Sent when |
|---|---|
| NY open range break | A one-minute candle closes above the high or below the low of the 09:30 to 09:45 range for the first time that day. |
| NY open price retest | After the break, a later candle trades back to the 09:30 opening price for the first time. |
Frequently asked questions
What is the opening range?
Here it is the high and low of the first 15 minutes of the New York session, 09:30 to 09:45 Eastern time.
Which markets does it cover?
NQ, MNQ, ES and MES.
Does it run on every timeframe?
It uses its own one-minute candles, so there is no timeframe to choose.
How long does it watch each morning?
From the close of the 09:45 candle until noon New York time, on weekdays.
Is this the same as the ATM alerts?
No. The ATM alerts use the 07:00 to 09:30 range and an inverse FVG entry. This scanner uses the first 15 minutes after the open.
Learn more and use it on a chart
- ICT trading concepts for futures — Market structure, fair value gaps and liquidity explained for futures traders.
- Open the charting page — The chart tools, including fair value gap and inverse FVG drawing, live here.
Related scanners
- Liquidity Sweep Scanner — Free live liquidity sweep scanner for 16 futures markets. Alerts when price sweeps the previous 1H, 4H, day, Asia, London or NY session high or low.
- Inverse FVG (IFVG) Scanner — What an inverse fair value gap (IFVG) is, how to spot one, and a free live IFVG scanner for 16 futures markets with alerts.
- IFVG at Key Levels Scanner — Free live scanner for inverse FVG retests that sit beside the previous day, session, 1H or 4H high or low, or a recent swing. 16 futures markets.
- Fair Value Gap (FVG) Scanner — What a fair value gap is, how to identify one, and a free live FVG scanner for 16 futures markets with alerts by email or Discord.
- Live futures chart scanner — every alert type, updated as candles close.
Alerts are informational and are not trading advice. They show that a pattern was detected, not where price will go, and patterns often fail. Futures trading involves substantial risk of loss.