Opening Range
The high and low price range established during the first 5-30 minutes of the trading day, used as a reference for breakout strategies.
Explained Simply
The opening range captures the initial battle between buyers and sellers as the market digests overnight news, pre-market activity, and institutional order flow. The Opening Range Breakout (ORB) strategy involves buying when price breaks above the opening range high or shorting when it breaks below the opening range low. The first 15-30 minutes often see the most volatile price action of the day as large institutional orders execute. A narrow opening range suggests indecision and a potential big move later, while a wide opening range indicates early conviction. Traders often use the opening range as support/resistance levels for the rest of the session — the high and low act as magnets and barriers for price.
How Tradewink Uses Opening Range
Tradewink's IntradayStrategyEngine implements an Opening Range Breakout (ORB) strategy that calculates the high and low of the first 15 minutes. The system generates buy signals when price breaks above the opening range with confirming volume and RSI momentum. ORB trades are sized conservatively and use the opposite end of the opening range as the stop-loss level, providing a clear risk-reward framework.
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