Trading Sessions Explained
Trading sessions shape volatility and volume. If you don’t know which session you’re trading in, you’ll constantly be confused by random price action that isn’t random at all. Each session has its own personality and its own traps.
The Three Major Sessions
The global market runs in three major phases:
- Asia Session
- London Session
- New York Session
Each one shifts who’s active, how fast price moves, and what liquidity looks like. If you already know how market imbalance works, this is when imbalance becomes predictable.
Asia Session (Low Liquidity, Slow Movement)
Asia is the calmest session. Liquidity is lighter, volatility is lower, and the market mostly ranges. Breakouts usually fail unless they’re driven by news.
| Trait | Asia Session Behavior |
|---|---|
| Liquidity | Low |
| Volatility | Controlled, slow |
| Typical Price Action | Range-bound, smaller rotations |
London Session (Volatility Kicks In)
London is where the real movement often starts. Institutions in Europe step in, liquidity improves, and volatility spikes. Trends frequently begin here.
- bigger rotations
- more meaningful breakouts
- faster tape
London also creates the imbalances that New York later reacts to. That ties directly into price discovery.
New York Session (Highest Volume, Strongest Moves)
New York dominates the day. Most major news releases drop here, and the U.S. session often decides the final direction.
| Trait | New York Behavior |
|---|---|
| Liquidity | Highest of all sessions |
| Volatility | Fast, aggressive |
| Price Action | Strong trends or violent reversals |
Session Overlaps (Where Things Get Wild)
The most important part of the global day is when sessions overlap:
- London–New York overlap — highest liquidity and fastest moves of the day
- Asia–London overlap — usually slower, but can create the initial setup
Bottom Line
Sessions matter because different groups of traders control the action at different times. Once you know which group is driving the market, price movement finally makes sense instead of feeling random.