Pre-Market vs Regular Session Liquidity
Also: premarket liquidity, regular session liquidity, pre-market sell side, pre-market buy side, 7am session liquidity, lunch macro sell side
ICT distinguishes between two distinct liquidity pool types for index futures and forex trading: Pre-Market Session Liquidity and Regular Session Liquidity. These are treated as separate pools with different behavioral characteristics and different probability of being targeted at different times of day. PRE-MARKET SESSION LIQUIDITY: Pre-market for index futures begins at 7:00 AM ET. Swing highs and swing lows formed between 7:00 AM and the regular session open (9:30 AM ET for equity index futures) constitute pre-market liquidity pools. Pre-market sell-side liquidity: swing lows formed in the pre-market period (7:00 AM – 9:30 AM) that have not yet been taken. Pre-market buy-side liquidity: swing highs formed in the pre-market period. REGULAR SESSION LIQUIDITY: Swing highs and lows formed AFTER the regular session open (9:30 AM ET for equities; the session open for forex) constitute regular session liquidity. BEHAVIORAL DISTINCTION: During the regular session, the algorithm tends to seek REGULAR SESSION liquidity pools first — specifically the most prominent swing lows or highs formed after the session open. Pre-market liquidity may or may not be taken; regular session liquidity formed after the open is a higher-priority target within the same trading day. LUNCH MACRO — SELL SIDE LIQUIDITY RULE: The "lunch macro" (approximately 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM ET) specifically targets the FIRST PROMINENT SELL-SIDE LIQUIDITY POOL formed AFTER 10:00 AM in the regular session. ICT states: "the lunch macro will seek sell side formed after 10am so it's the first prominent sell side liquidity pool after 10am." This means: the low of the day formed between 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM ET is the most likely target for the lunch macro move, NOT any pre-market or pre-10am liquidity. PRE-MARKET vs REGULAR SESSION PRIORITY: When the market opens with a gap or directional bias: - Pre-market swing lows (sell side) may be the first target before the regular session open - Once the session opens, regular-session formed lows take priority - The lunch macro specifically anchors to post-10am sell side, not 7am-9:30am pre-market lows
Identification5
- Mark the pre-market session start: 7:00 AM ET for index futures.
- Mark the regular session open: 9:30 AM ET for equity index futures (NQ, ES, YM).
- Identify swing lows (sell-side liquidity) and swing highs (buy-side liquidity) separately for: (a) pre-market period 7:00–9:30 AM, and (b) regular session 9:30 AM onward.
- For the lunch macro trade (11:30 AM – 1:00 PM window): identify the FIRST PROMINENT swing low that formed AFTER 10:00 AM. This is the primary sell-side target for the lunch macro.
- Distinguish pre-market lows from regular-session lows when identifying the lunch macro target — use only post-10am lows.
Entry2
- Lunch macro short entry: when price reaches the high of the pre-lunch range (buy-side taken) and a bearish FVG or structure shift appears, enter short targeting the first prominent post-10am sell-side low.
- Regular session continuation: after pre-market sell-side is taken at the open, price may offer a long entry targeting buy-side liquidity formed in the pre-market or the daily high.
Invalidation2
- If the first prominent post-10am low has already been taken before the lunch macro window begins (11:30 AM) — a new prominent low must form for the lunch macro to target.
- In a strongly bullish day, the lunch macro may not materialize — the market may hold bid through the lunch period without offering a meaningful retracement.
ICT Quotes
""lunch macro will seek sell side formed after 10am so it's the first prominent sell side liquidity pool after 10am.""
""Pre-market session start is 7am ET.""
Timeframes
Version History1 version
ICT YT - 2025-09-19 - Trading Premarket and Regular Session Liquidity.srt
""lunch macro will seek sell side formed after 10am so it's the first prominent sell side liquidity pool after 10am.""
First documented treatment of the pre-market vs regular session liquidity distinction. Establishes 7:00 AM ET as pre-market start for index futures. Key lunch macro rule: target = first prominent sell-side (swing low) formed AFTER 10:00 AM, not pre-market lows. Live trade example provided in NQ/ES context for September 19, 2025 trading session.
Notes
This concept is a specific application of the broader ICT liquidity framework to the intraday session structure. The key practical implication is for lunch macro traders: do not use pre-market swing lows as the lunch macro target. The post-10am first prominent low is the operative target. For Forex, the equivalent pre-market is the Asian session or the period before the London open. The principle of differentiating session-specific liquidity pools from cross-session liquidity applies across all markets ICT trades. See also: macro-time.yaml, ny-kill-zone.yaml, dealing-range.yaml, liquidity-pool.yaml, sell-side-liquidity.yaml
Asymmetry Notes
The concept applies symmetrically for buy-side (highs) and sell-side (lows). For a bearish lunch macro: target the first prominent buy-side pool after 10am. For a bullish lunch macro: target the first prominent sell-side pool after 10am. The 10am anchor applies in both directions.