Introduction
With intraday market structure, one of the most powerful daily patterns to recognize is the London Reversal / New York Continuation daily profile. This framework helps traders understand how price forms the daily candle through key session behaviors.
In this blog, we’ll break down what a London Reversal is, how it ties into the daily candle’s open-high-low-close (OHLC), and how New York session provides the continuation move.
Understanding Sessions
Divide the trading day into sessions and kill zones:
Asia session: 20:00 EST – 00:00 EST
London session 02:00 EST- 05:00 EST
New York AM session 08:30 EST – 12:00 EST
What is a London Reversal?
The London Reversal is when London session creates the wick of the daily candle.
Bullish London Reversal:
Daily candle opens.
London manipulates lower, creating the low of the day.
A change in the state of delivery (CISD) confirms bullish delivery.
New York session then forms a continuation of London’s reversal.
- Bearish London Reversal:
Daily candle opens.
London manipulates higher, creating the high of the day.
A change in the state of delivery (CISD) confirms bearish delivery.
New York session then forms a continuation of London’s reversal.
The New York Continuation
The role of the New York session is to trade the expansion following the reversal.
After a London low (bullish setup), look for New York session to form continuations out of fair value gaps or sweeping out lows.
After a London high (bearish setup), look for New York session to form continuations out of fair value gaps or sweeping out highs.
Common price action elements to look for:
Order blocks formed by London’s shift.
Fair value gaps (FVGs) offering retracement entries.
Time-based confluence around 8:30, 9:30, and 10:00 AM EST.
💡 Pro Tip: Avoid New York session when London forms the reversal and the expansion. This is when the average daily range has already been completed and sets up unfavorable conditions for New York.
Examples of London Reversal
Lets look at some chart examples:
On a bullish day, price opens and then during London session, sweeps out a low to its left, forms a CISD. Then during New York session, price continues in the direction of the daily candle, forming continuations which can be traded.
- On a bearish day, London session sweeps a high, forms a CISD, and New York continues the downward expansion.
Why This Matters for Daily Candles
When you step back to the daily chart, you’ll see how this behavior completes the OHLC structure:
Daily wick = London session
Body of daily candle = New York session
This pattern repeats often enough that it forms one of the core daily profiles.
Key Takeaways
London session (2–5 AM EST) defines the daily wick through a small opposing run.
A CISD during London confirms the reversal and profile.
New York session (8:30–12 PM EST) provides continuation trades in alignment with London’s reversal.
This process forms the daily candle’s open, high/low, and close structure.
Mastering this concept helps traders align intraday execution with the daily narrative.
