ICT kill zones: what they are and the times traders use
By Bec, futures trader and founder of Wildflower · Updated
Kill zones are windows of clock time that Inner Circle Trader, a trading educator whose names for chart patterns, like fair value gap, are now widely used.More in the glossary traders mark on their charts, each tied to the start of a big A stretch of the trading day with a set start and end, such as the hours a big stock exchange is open.More in the glossary. The ones named most often are the Asian, London and New York kill zones, given in New York time. They mark times of day, not prices, and different sources give slightly different times.
What a kill zone is, and why it’s called that
A An ICT name for a window of clock time around a big session’s open, such as 2:00 to 5:00 am New York time. Sources give slightly different times.More in the glossary is a stretch of the clock, such as 2:00 to 5:00 in the morning, New York time. It isn’t a price level or a pattern. It’s a window you shade on the chart, the same hours every day.
Each one sits around the start of a big trading session: Asia, London or New York. When a big market opens, more traders are active and more orders come in. ICT called these windows kill zones: the times he teaches traders to watch, instead of the whole day.
The name is ICT’s. The idea behind it is older and plainer: markets don’t trade the same way at every hour. Midnight in New York is quiet for stock index futures. The minutes after 9:30 am, when the US stock market opens, are not.
ICT kill zone times, in New York time
These are the times most often given. They’re in New York time, because that’s the clock ICT uses. Other sources move the edges, and ICT himself has given different times over the years and for different markets. There’s no official list.
- Asian kill zone: 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Some sources give 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, or 8:00 pm to midnight.
- London kill zone: 2:00 am to 5:00 am. It starts before the London stock market opens, at 3:00 am New York time for most of the year.
- New York kill zone: 7:00 am to 10:00 am. Some stock index futures traders use 8:30 am to 11:00 am instead, starting when many US economic reports come out.
- London close kill zone: 10:00 am to noon, as London trading winds down in the afternoon there.
Some traders only watch one of these. Some add their own, such as the New York afternoon. Which ones you mark, and where you put the edges, is your choice.
How to mark a kill zone on your chart, step by step
1. Set your chart to New York time
Kill zones are given in New York time. Change the chart’s clock, or work out the times in your own.
2. Find where it starts
For the London kill zone, that’s the candle that starts at 2:00 am.
3. Find where it ends
The window ends as 5:00 am begins. The 4:30 candle is the last one inside.
4. Shade it, and note its high and low
Many traders also mark the highest and lowest prices inside the window.
Many charting platforms have a tool that shades a set time window each day, so you don’t have to draw it by hand. Each candle is usually labelled with the time it starts. A 30-minute candle labelled 4:30 covers 4:30 to 5:00.
Clocks, time zones and daylight saving
Kill zones follow the New York clock. If you live somewhere else, you have to convert them, and the gap can change during the year.
The US moves its clocks forward on the second Sunday in March and back on the first Sunday in November. The UK changes on the last Sundays of March and October. For a few weeks each spring and autumn, London is four hours ahead of New York instead of five. So the London kill zone, 2:00 to 5:00 am in New York, is 7:00 to 10:00 am in London for most of the year, and 6:00 to 9:00 am in those weeks.
Futures exchanges in the US often work in Chicago time, one hour behind New York all year round. 2:00 am in New York is 1:00 am in Chicago.
What counts as inside a kill zone, and what doesn’t
The start is in, the end is out. A 2:00 to 5:00 window includes the candle that starts at 2:00, and stops as 5:00 begins. Some traders count by the time a candle closes instead. Both are in use.
The clock has to match. The same candles read 2:00 to 5:00 on a New York clock and 7:00 to 10:00 on a London one. Shade 2:00 to 5:00 on a London chart and you’ve marked a different part of the night.
Candles bigger than the window blur it. A 4-hour candle from 2:00 to 6:00 mixes an hour after the window with the three hours inside it. Here its high came at 5:00. The How much time each candle covers, such as 1 minute or 1 hour.More in the glossary has to be small enough for the window’s edges to fall between candles.
Weekends and holidays. Futures close for the weekend and for some holidays. A window that falls in a pause has no candles in it.
What traders watch in and around a kill zone
A kill zone on its own is only a time. What traders do with it varies. These are the things you’ll hear about most:
The window’s high and low. Many traders mark the highest and lowest prices made inside a kill zone, then watch where price goes after it. In the picture, price later trades above the London high during the New York window.
The Asian range. Some traders mark the high and low of the Asian kill zone, or of the whole Asian session, and watch what London does with them. Price can poke through and close back inside, which traders call a A quick move past an earlier high or low that then closes back inside it.More in the glossary. It can close past. Or it can stay inside the range all morning.
Setups inside the window. Many ICT traders only take their own setups, such as a fair value gap or a sweep, when they form inside a kill zone. The kill zone is a filter on time, and the rest of the rules are theirs.
None of these tells you what price will do. A kill zone can be quiet, and big moves can happen outside one.
Where the term kill zone comes from
The term comes from ICT (Inner Circle Trader), a trading educator whose names for chart ideas are now widely used. He first taught the kill zones for forex, where the London and New York opens matter most. Futures traders borrowed them, and many adjusted the times to their own market’s hours. That’s one reason the times you’ll find differ.
Some traders use the spelling “killzone”, as one word. It means the same thing.
Often confused with
Trading sessions. The Asian, London and New York sessions cover many hours each. A kill zone is a shorter window, usually near a session’s start. Read about trading sessions.
Silver bullet. An ICT idea that uses a one-hour window, such as 10:00 to 11:00 am New York time, with a fair value gap inside it. Read about the silver bullet.
Opening range. The high and low made in the first minutes after an open. It’s a price range. A kill zone is a time window. Read about opening range breakouts.
Session and day filters. Rules that only allow trades at certain hours or on certain days. A kill zone is one kind, with a name. Read about session and day filters.
Marking kill zones with an indicator
Keep your marks to the hours you choose
Wildflower’s Indicator marks things on a chart from rules you describe in plain words, with every number typed by you. It can draw the high and low of a time window you state, such as 2:00 to 5:00 am New York time, and mark a close beyond them. It can also keep your other rules to the hours you choose: switch off whole clock hours (it uses Chicago time, one hour behind New York), set a daily window with no marks, or pick days of the week. It doesn’t know the kill zones by name, so you give it the times. Check it all on a chart for free, then add it to TradingView with a step-by-step guide.
Try it free. You only pay when you add it to TradingView.
Common questions
What are the ICT kill zones?
Named windows of clock time around the big session opens: Asian, London, New York and London close. ICT traders mark them on their charts.
What time is the London kill zone?
It’s most often given as 2:00 am to 5:00 am New York time. That’s 7:00 to 10:00 am in London for most of the year.
What time is the New York kill zone?
It’s most often given as 7:00 am to 10:00 am New York time. Some futures traders use 8:30 am to 11:00 am.
What time is the Asian kill zone?
It’s most often given as 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm New York time. Some sources give 7:00 pm to 10:00 pm, or 8:00 pm to midnight.
Do kill zones change with daylight saving?
In New York time, no. In London time, they shift by an hour for a few weeks each spring and autumn, when the two countries change their clocks on different dates.
Is a kill zone the same as a trading session?
No. A session lasts many hours. A kill zone is a shorter window, usually near a session’s start.
Do kill zones work for futures?
They’re only times, so they can be marked on any chart, futures included. A kill zone on its own says nothing about how trades will turn out.
Can I get a kill zone indicator for TradingView?
Wildflower’s Indicator can draw the high and low of a time window you give it, and keep your rules to hours you choose. Preview it free, then pay only when you add it to TradingView. See the Indicator.