Asia Session Explained

What the Asia session is

Equity index futures such as ES and NQ trade nearly around the clock. After the US cash session ends, there is a short daily pause, and trading resumes in the evening Eastern Time. During that evening and early morning, Asian markets are active, including Tokyo, Hong Kong, Shanghai and Sydney. The Asia session is a convenient name for that window.

Liquidity during Asia is typically lower than during US hours. Moves can still be meaningful, but the market is thinner, which is why news from the region, such as central bank decisions or major economic data, can have an outsized effect on futures.

Timing

There is no official Asia session on CME futures, so every trader draws the window differently. A common approach is to call roughly 6:00 or 8:00 PM ET to about 2:00 or 3:00 AM ET the Asia session, and hand off to London after that. LiquidityLevels uses 8:45 PM ET as its Asia reference time, then 2:45 AM ET for London and 8:45 AM ET for the US pre-open.

Eastern Time shifts with daylight saving, and some Asian markets do not shift, so the relationship between US and Asian clocks changes twice a year. Pick a window and apply it consistently.

What traders look at

The Asia range, meaning its high and low, becomes a reference. London often trades into it, tests its edges or breaks beyond it. Whether the Asia session holds the prior close, drifts away from it, or stays flat sets a tone for what comes next.

Other features include whether Asia accepts or rejects the prior day high and low, where it sits relative to the prior value area, and how much of its range was set around scheduled events. A quiet Asia session with a narrow range is often described as a coiled market. A wide one-directional Asia session is described as having a strong lean.

How it feeds the other sessions

The Asia high and low are typically the first meaningful levels of the overnight session. As London arrives, the market may extend the range, reverse it or consolidate. By the US pre-open, the overnight range is usually a combination of Asia and London behavior, plus any reaction to economic releases.

Because the Asia session starts the process, a briefing published at its start gives the earliest read on the overnight structure. Later briefings update that read as London and the US pre-open change it.

A routine for the Asia session

At the start of the Asia window, note the prior close, the prior day high and low, and the prior value area. During the session, mark the Asia high and low as they develop. At the end, describe the session in three words: where it ended relative to the prior close, how wide the range was, and whether it accepted or rejected the prior day levels.

That summary becomes the first input for London. A narrow, flat Asia session tells you that London has a quiet starting point. A wide, directional Asia session tells you London will probably open with the market already extended.

Common Asia-hour catalysts

Scheduled events during Asia can drive moves. Examples include Japanese and Chinese economic data, central bank decisions from Japan, Australia and China, and large corporate earnings from the region. Unscheduled headlines, such as geopolitical events, also appear. Because liquidity is thinner, the same news can create a larger move than it would in the US session. Checking the economic calendar before the session helps put any early move in context.

Worked example

Common mistakes

• Assuming the Asia session has a fixed official start and end. It is a convention.
• Over-reading moves made on thin volume. Overnight liquidity is lower.
• Forgetting daylight saving shifts when comparing windows across seasons.
• Treating Asia highs and lows as permanent support or resistance. They are references for the session ahead.

How it connects to ES, NQ, SPY and QQQ

SPY and QQQ options are closed overnight, so the Asia session is invisible in the ETFs. ES and NQ are the only window into it. Translating Asia levels into SPY and QQQ terms, by dividing by roughly 10 and 41, gives options traders the earliest look at where the next day may begin.

The Asia Open briefing from LiquidityLevels covers overnight ES and NQ drift, the first key levels in both futures and ETF terms, and early catalysts such as China and Japan data.

Frequently asked questions