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Stops under the Asian low

The low of the Asian session is a magnet for stop orders. Traders who bought the range and placed protective stops below the low create a cluster of sell orders in a small zone.

When London opens, the market often tests the zone. A quick dip below the Asian low triggers those stops, producing a burst of selling that is absorbed by larger buyers. Then price reverses and runs.

It happens often enough that many traders watch for it. The knowledge has made it less reliable, since more participants anticipate it. Some wait for the sweep to enter long, which provides the demand that fuels the reversal. Others try to front-run it, and sometimes the move simply continues.

For a scalper, the useful lesson is about where not to place stops. A stop just below an obvious, visible low has a poor survival rate. A stop placed farther away, based on structure or volatility, sits outside the cluster.

Identifying the Asian high and low takes seconds and creates a reference grid for the London session.

The same logic applies to the prior day's high and low, and to weekly extremes, with decreasing reliability.

Does London take out the Asian low or high before reversing, and how often?

The low of the Asian session is a level that many traders watch. Stops are often placed just below it by traders who bought during Asian hours or expect it to hold as support. When London opens, price sometimes dips below the Asian low, triggers those stops, and then reverses. That pattern, often called a stop run, can catch traders with stops in obvious places. Placing stops a little further below the low, or using a level based on volatility rather than a fixed reference point, reduces the chance of being caught by a brief dip.