The complete ICT temporal and price reference framework on a single chart — five kill zones, prior session OHLC levels, current session live levels, weekly price points, and the New Day / New Week Opening Gaps. Time defines opportunity; price defines location. This indicator gives you both.
Section 01 — Overview
BWT ICT Key Price Points & Kill Zones plots the entire ICT temporal and structural reference framework on the chart in one pass. The five ICT kill zones — Asia, London, NY AM, NY Lunch, and NY PM — are rendered as shaded time windows so you can see at a glance whether the market is inside a high-probability execution window. Layered on top of those time windows are the price reference levels that ICT methodology treats as key liquidity draws: prior session open, high, low, and close; current session live high/low/open; current and prior week highs and lows; and the New Day and New Week Opening Gaps (NDOG / NWOG).
ICT methodology is built around a simple thesis: institutional order flow concentrates inside specific time windows and reaches for specific price levels. Without knowing both, you are trading blind. A perfect Order Block formed at 12:30 PM during NY Lunch will not deliver because the volume isn't there. A textbook Fair Value Gap at 9:45 AM that ignores the prior day's high as a liquidity draw will get steamrolled when price runs the level. This indicator removes the guesswork from when and what to watch — leaving you free to focus on the entry trigger.
Each component is independently toggleable. New ICT traders should start with kill zones plus prior session H/L/O/C and the NDOG, and add weekly levels and NY Lunch / NY PM zones only after the core framework is internalized. The defaults are tuned for index futures (ES/NQ/YM/RTY) and forex majors traded on Eastern Time charts. Kill zone times are anchored to New York time (ET) regardless of the chart's local time — this is the standard ICT convention and matches every published kill-zone reference.
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Section 02 — Concept Reference
A working glossary of every kill zone window and price reference level the indicator plots. These are the building blocks of the ICT temporal framework — combine them with PD-array entry models from BWT ICT Concepts for full-stack confluence trades.
The opening hours of the Asian trading day, encompassing the Tokyo and Sydney sessions. Volume is comparatively thin, but the highs and lows printed here become important reference levels for the rest of the 24-hour cycle. ICT methodology treats the Asia range as the liquidity that London and NY will eventually sweep — particularly the Asian high if the daily bias is bearish, and the Asian low if bullish.
The London open is the first major institutional volume event of the day. The London kill zone almost always produces the day's first significant directional move — often by sweeping the Asian range high or low and reversing into a multi-hour London trend leg. This is one of the two highest-probability ICT execution windows. Many ICT traders take only London kill zone setups and simply skip the rest of the day.
The New York morning session — bracketed by the 8:30 AM ET economic data release block and the 9:30 AM ET equity market open. This is the most heavily-traded window of the day for index futures. The NY AM kill zone typically produces either a continuation of the London move or a sharp reversal that defines the rest of the session. The 9:30–10:00 AM window inside this zone is where the 1st Presented FVG setup forms.
The lunch hour consolidation window. Institutional desks step away, volume drops sharply, and price typically chops in a tight range. ICT methodology treats this as the "don't trade" window — but it's still useful to mark on the chart because the lunch range frequently sets up the post-lunch reversal at 1:30 PM. Setups inside this window have measurably lower follow-through and should be avoided unless extremely high-confluence.
The afternoon session following the lunch break. Volume returns and the day's second significant move often develops here. The PM Silver Bullet (3:00–4:00 PM) sits inside this window. Late-day reversal setups, MOC (market-on-close) imbalances, and continuation trades from the AM session all play out in the NY PM kill zone. It's the last institutional window before settlement closes the regular session.
The gap between the 5:00 PM ET futures close and the 6:00 PM ET re-open on Monday through Thursday. CME holds a one-hour pause each day; the price differential across that pause is the NDOG. ICT teaches that NDOGs are genuine fair value gaps that act as price magnets — price returns to fill the NDOG more often than not, frequently within the first few hours of the new session. The 50% midpoint (Consequent Encroachment) is the most reactive level inside the gap.
The gap between Friday's 5:00 PM ET close and Sunday's 6:00 PM ET re-open. The NWOG is the weekly equivalent of the NDOG and behaves the same way — price tends to retrace into it during the early days of the new week to "rebalance" the gap. The NWOG carries more weight than the NDOG because it spans the entire weekend's worth of accumulated news and positioning flow. If price is above the NWOG, treat it as support; if below, treat as resistance.
The previous day's open, high, low, and close — the four most actively-watched price reference levels by retail and institutional traders alike. Stops cluster above the prior day high (PDH) and below the prior day low (PDL); orders accumulate around the prior day open (PDO) and close (PDC). Price is engineered to sweep one or both of PDH and PDL during most trading sessions. Knowing where these levels sit is non-negotiable for ICT execution.
The prior week's high and low (PWH / PWL) and the current week's evolving high and low (CWH / CWL). These are HTF macro reference levels — the dealing range of the larger weekly timeframe. PWH and PWL are sticky targets: they often get swept in the early days of the new week, anchoring weekly trend reversals or continuation moves. Combine with the NWOG for a complete weekly bias framework.
The official daily settlement print for index futures. CME calculates settlement at 4:15 PM ET for ES/NQ/YM/RTY, and the resulting price is the reference used by clearing for daily P&L marks. ICT treats settlement as the anchor for the next day's NDOG — the gap is measured from settlement to the 6 PM re-open. Late-day moves into or away from settlement are often institutional rebalancing flow, not directional conviction.
Section 03 — Workflow
Every ICT setup that uses key price points follows this sequence. The framework forces you to anchor every entry in both when the market is most likely to deliver and which levels it's most likely to reach for.
Section 04 — Parameters
Every reference level and kill zone can be enabled independently. Start with kill zones plus prior session H/L/O/C and the NDOG. Add weekly levels, current session evolving levels, and the lunch/PM kill zones once the core levels are reading naturally.
| Parameter | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Show Prior Close | On | Draws the previous session's closing price as a horizontal reference line |
| Show Prior High | On | Draws the previous session's high (PDH) as a horizontal reference line |
| Show Prior Low | On | Draws the previous session's low (PDL) as a horizontal reference line |
| Show Prior Open | On | Draws the previous session's opening price (PDO) as a horizontal reference line |
| Show Current High | On | Draws the current session's evolving high in real time |
| Show Current Low | On | Draws the current session's evolving low in real time |
| Show Current Open | On | Draws the current session's opening price |
| Show Asia Kill Zone | On | Shades the Asia kill zone time window (8 PM – Midnight ET) |
| Show London Kill Zone | On | Shades the London kill zone time window (2 AM – 5 AM ET) |
| Show NY AM Kill Zone | On | Shades the NY AM kill zone time window (7 AM – 10 AM ET) |
| Show NY Lunch Kill Zone | On | Shades the NY Lunch kill zone time window (12 PM – 1 PM ET) |
| Show NY PM Kill Zone | On | Shades the NY PM kill zone time window (1:30 PM – 4 PM ET) |
| Show NDOG | On | New Day Opening Gap — the gap between the prior session close (5 PM ET) and the current open (6 PM ET) |
| Show NWOG | On | New Week Opening Gap — the gap between Friday's 5 PM ET close and Sunday's 6 PM ET open |
| Show Current Week High/Low | On | Draws the current week's evolving high and low (CWH / CWL) |
| Show Prior Week High/Low | On | Draws the prior week's high and low (PWH / PWL) as horizontal reference levels |
| Opening Gap Settlement Hour | 16 | Hour (ET) when the daily settlement reference is recorded — defines the start of the NDOG |
| Opening Gap Settlement Minute | 15 | Minute of the settlement timestamp — 16:15 ET is the standard CME index futures settlement time |
| Chart Timezone | Auto | Must match your NinjaTrader data feed timezone for kill zones to align correctly |
| Show Zone Labels | On | Adds text labels identifying each kill zone band |
| Show Level Labels | On | Adds price labels (PDH / PDL / NDOG etc.) to each reference line |
Section 05 — Trade Setups
These are the named, repeatable setups that combine kill zone timing with key price level reactions. Each one has an objective trigger and predefined entry/stop/target structure — no discretion required in the moment.
When the 6 PM ET open creates a gap from the 5 PM ET close, that NDOG acts as a price magnet for the rest of the overnight session and into London. ICT teaches that NDOGs are genuine fair value gaps — they fill more often than not, frequently within the first few hours. Trade the fill in the direction of the gap closure: if the open gapped up, look for shorts back to the prior close; if down, look for longs back to the prior close. The 50% midpoint (Consequent Encroachment) is the most reactive intermediate target.
The NWOG carries more weight than any single NDOG — it spans 65+ hours of weekend news, positioning, and macro flow. ICT methodology teaches that the NWOG almost always reacts within the first 1–3 trading days of the new week. Mark the NWOG at Sunday's 6 PM open and trade the reversion back to Friday's 5 PM close. Above the NWOG, treat it as support; below, as resistance. The CE (50% level) is the highest-probability reaction zone if the full fill doesn't come immediately.
The cleanest application of the kill zone framework. Wait for price to enter the London or NY AM window and sweep a known liquidity level — most often the prior day high (PDH) or prior day low (PDL), or the Asian range high/low. The combination of (a) high-volume execution window plus (b) just-completed liquidity sweep produces the highest-probability reversal setups in the entire ICT model. CISD on the 1-min is the earliest trigger; MSS on the 5-min is the conservative confirmation.
PDH and PDL are the two most heavily-defended retail stop clusters on any chart. The vast majority of trading days will sweep at least one of them. Mark both levels at session open. When price approaches and breaches one of them — particularly during a kill zone — the typical institutional play is to absorb the resting stops and reverse. This setup works on virtually any liquid instrument but is most reliable on index futures during the NY AM window, when PDH/PDL are usually swept within the first 90 minutes.
The dead window between the London kill zone close (5 AM) and the NY AM kill zone open (7 AM) is often the day's tightest range. ICT methodology teaches that this consolidation typically resolves with a sweep + reversal at NY AM open — the London move is faded, and the NY session takes the daily bias from there. Mark the London range high and low explicitly. The first sweep of either after 7 AM, with rejection, is your trigger.
PWH and PWL are the macro liquidity draws of the weekly timeframe. When price sweeps one of them — usually mid-week, on a London or NY AM expansion — the resulting reversal often defines the rest of the week's directional bias. This is a slower setup that holds for hours or days, not minutes. Best used as a swing entry in alignment with monthly and weekly bias. Combine with the NWOG for stacked weekly confluence.
Section 06 — Best Practices
These rules distill the most consistently emphasized time-and-price principles from the ICT body of work. Each one filters out a specific class of low-quality setups — applying them tightens execution dramatically.
In ICT methodology, the time of day determines the quality of every setup, not just the entry trigger. A textbook FVG at 9:45 AM has 3–4× the follow-through probability of the same FVG at 12:30 PM. The kill zones aren't a suggestion — they are the actual delivery windows the algorithm uses. Without a kill-zone filter, you are taking the market's worst trades.
London (2–5 AM ET) and NY AM (7–10 AM ET) produce the highest-probability ICT setups. The Silver Bullet windows (10–11 AM and 3–4 PM ET) are specific high-energy slots inside the broader zones. Outside these windows, the same setup measures roughly half the win rate. Build your daily routine around the windows, not around chart-watching all day.
The vast majority of NDOGs fill within the first 4–6 hours of the new session. Treat the NDOG as a known target rather than a directional bias. If price opens gapped up, position bias is short toward the prior close. If gapped down, bias is long. The 50% midpoint (CE) is where most reactions begin — it's a more frequent target than the full fill.
PDH, PDL, PDO, and PDC are not classical support/resistance in the bounce-and-hold sense. They are liquidity reservoirs that price is engineered to reach for and clear. Plan trades around the sweep itself, not around the level holding. The ICT rule of thumb: most days will sweep at least one of PDH or PDL — often both. Anticipate that.
PWH and PWL are the highest-conviction levels on the chart outside of monthly extremes. When price approaches a weekly high or low, position size up — these are the swings that produce 5R+ wins. Don't fade weekly levels casually. Wait for the sweep, wait for the LTF MSS, then take the trade with full confidence.
The 4:15 PM ET CME index futures settlement is the anchor point for the next day's NDOG calculation. The price at settlement is the reference for the gap that forms when CME re-opens at 6 PM ET. Late-day moves into or away from settlement are usually clearing flow, not directional conviction — don't confuse them with new trend information. Mark settlement; let the gap form; trade the fill the next session.
If you can only trade one window, trade London (2–5 AM ET). The combination of European institutional flow + low retail participation + the day's first significant directional move makes London the highest-edge window in the 24-hour cycle. The NY Lunch hour (12–1 PM ET) is the opposite — almost zero edge. Avoid it entirely unless a specific high-confluence setup forms.
Even the cleanest kill zone sweep + CISD entry will fail if it goes against the daily and 4-hour bias. Before any setup, define HTF direction explicitly — bullish, bearish, or neutral. Take only setups in the HTF direction. The kill zone framework filters when; HTF bias filters which way. Both filters are required.
Kill zones are anchored to New York time (ET) by ICT convention. Your NinjaTrader chart must be set to ET (or the indicator's Chart Timezone parameter must match your data feed timezone) for the zones to align with reality. A chart on UTC with ET kill zones will display zones in the wrong place — and your setups will look "early" or "late" by 4–5 hours. Verify this on day one.
The highest-probability setups stack kill zone + key price level + LTF trigger simultaneously. Examples: NY AM sweep of PDH + bearish CISD; London sweep of Asian high + MSS; NWOG fill at PWL + 1h MSS reversal. Single-factor setups produce noise; three-factor stacks produce trades. Wait for the stack — the rest of the day will provide more if you're patient.
Section 07 — Common Mistakes
These are the recurring failure modes specific to time-and-price ICT execution. Avoiding them is, on its own, a measurable edge — most kill-zone-naive traders take losses from these mistakes long before they ever take losses from a genuinely bad setup.
The single biggest filter in ICT. The same FVG at 9:45 AM that produces a 4R winner produces a chop-out at 11:45 AM. ICT setups depend on institutional participation; outside kill zones, the volume isn't there. Use the Restrict to Time Ranges parameter (in BWT ICT Concepts) to enforce this physically.
Most retail traders don't even know what an NDOG is. The fact that price returns to fill the NDOG more often than not is one of the most reliable repeatable edges in index futures — yet it requires literally just marking two prices on the chart. If you're not tracking NDOGs, you're leaving free trades on the table.
PDH and PDL are not levels you "buy at and sell at." They are levels that get swept. Trading the bounce off the level (as classical S/R) directly opposes the institutional behavior — you're providing liquidity, not collecting it. Wait for the sweep, then trade the reversal.
Settlement at 4:15 PM ET defines the next NDOG. Traders who close their session at 4:00 PM and ignore the settlement print miss the entire reason for the overnight gap and end up surprised by the next day's open. Mark settlement; track where the 6 PM open fires relative to it.
Even a perfect 1m setup will struggle if the weekly direction strongly opposes it. Weekly H/L sweeps and the NWOG are macro context — they tell you which intraday setups have HTF wind at their back and which are fighting it. Always glance at the weekly chart before any session.
When London or NY AM is delivering an obvious one-direction trend, the urge to "catch the reversal" is strong — and almost always wrong. Kill zones are when institutional volume commits to a direction. Trade with the kill zone trend; counter-trend trades inside an active kill zone are the most expensive trades on the chart.
If your NinjaTrader chart is set to UTC and the kill zones display ET, every kill zone will appear 4–5 hours offset from reality. Your "NY AM kill zone" will start at noon. Verify chart timezone day one — and verify it again the first weekend after a daylight saving switch.
12 PM – 1 PM ET produces the lowest-quality setups of the trading day. Volume drops, price chops, FVGs form and instantly fill, MSSes whipsaw. Many ICT traders explicitly do not trade NY Lunch at all. If you must monitor the chart, wait — the post-lunch reversal at 1:30 PM is a far higher-edge entry.
BWT Precision Indicators require a valid BWT license for NinjaTrader 8. ICT methodology and the concepts described on this page are derived from publicly available educational material by Michael J. Huddleston (Inner Circle Trader). Kill zone times referenced (Asia 8 PM – Midnight ET, London 2 AM – 5 AM ET, NY AM 7 AM – 10 AM ET, NY Lunch 12 PM – 1 PM ET, NY PM 1:30 PM – 4 PM ET) reflect the standard ICT convention. This page is provided for informational and educational purposes only and is not trading advice. Trading futures and other leveraged products involves substantial risk of loss and is not appropriate for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results.