Using the Asian range as a liquidity map for London

[Shadow Trader]

Asia is usually quiet on the major pairs, which makes it useful. The high and low of that session become obvious reference points, and plenty of retail stops pile up outside them. When London opens, price frequently moves to one side of the range first, takes those orders, and then either reverses or continues, depending on the higher timeframe bias. My process is simple. I mark the Asian high and low before London. I note the higher timeframe direction. If bias is bullish and London sweeps the Asian low then closes back inside the range with momentum, that is a candidate long. If it sweeps the Asian high in a bullish bias and closes above with strength, I treat it as continuation rather than reversal. I do not trade the sweep itself. I trade the confirmation after it. And on days where the Asian range is already huge, I skip the idea completely, because the levels are too far apart to give a usable risk to reward ratio.

[FXS HongKong Scalper]

Living in Hong Kong, I trade the Asian session itself, so I see the other side of this. The Asian range is not always quiet. On days with Chinese data, a BoJ meeting or a big Nikkei move, the range can be wide and already directional, and then the London sweep idea works less well. I would add a filter for the size of the Asian range compared with its usual size. A narrow range sets up the London sweep much better than a wide one.