How to Use the Previous Day High and Low in Futures Trading

Define the Levels Before You Trade Them

The previous day's high (PDH) and low (PDL) are two prices from the last session, and they're only useful if you pick one definition and stick with it. In ES and NQ you have two choices: the regular trading hours high and low (the 9:30am to 4:00pm ET cash session), or the full Globex session high and low. On many days those are different numbers. Chart whichever you prefer, but label it, and don't switch halfway through a trade because the other one looks nicer.

Why do traders watch these prices? Many people chart the same numbers, so stops and entries tend to bunch up near them. That's a reasonable mechanism, but it's an assumption. You can't see other participants' orders, and a chart doesn't prove anyone is defending a level. I treat PDH and PDL as places where a decision has to be made, not places where price is obliged to react.

Four Reactions Worth Planning For

1. Break above PDH and hold

Price trades above PDH and stays there, with candles closing above the level rather than poking through and snapping back. The old resistance may now act as support. A common plan is to wait for the first pullback to PDH, enter long, and put the stop below the level. The target is the next reference above, such as the prior week high or a round number. Define 'hold' in advance (for example, two consecutive 5-minute closes above PDH) so you aren't deciding it while the candle is moving.

2. Failed break above PDH

Price pushes above PDH, then closes back below it within a few candles. Traders who bought the breakout are now offside, and that can feed a move down. Plan the short below PDH with the stop above the spike high, targeting VWAP first. Keep in mind this is a hypothesis about trapped buyers. Sometimes the move simply chops sideways.

3. Test and hold at PDL

Price drops to PDL and stalls. Signs you might look for are no new lows on a second test, a volume spike at the level, and a bounce of several points. A long here uses a stop a few points under PDL. On ES, a 3 point stop is $150 per contract ($15 on MES). On NQ it's $60 per point, so 3 points is $60 per NQ contract only if you count at $20 per point: 3 x $20 = $60. The stop is clearly defined, which is the real advantage, but stop orders can slip in fast markets.

4. Break below PDL and hold

This mirrors the first case. Price closes below PDL, pulls back to it from underneath, and fails. The short entry sits below the level with the stop above it, targeting the prior week low or the next round number.

Checking PDH and PDL Against KPL Levels

PDH and PDL are known before the open. KPL levels aren't. KPL levels are fixed reference prices anchored to the regular-session opening print, and the standard ES/NQ map has four levels built from the full-session and after-hours travel. Since the anchor is the 9:30am ET open print, you can't have completed anchored KPLs before the open. Once they exist they don't move intraday. The KPL strategy page explains how the map is built, and it's separate from any model context.

After the open, check whether PDH or PDL sits within a few points of a KPL level. If it does, you have one zone to plan around instead of two lines. That's the whole claim. Whether such zones produce better reactions is something to measure in your own journal, not something I'd assume. Tag each trade 'PDH/PDL only', 'KPL only' or 'overlap' and compare results after you have a meaningful number of each. Thirty trades won't settle it.

Trend Days and Range Days

The same level reads differently depending on the day. On a trend day, PDH or PDL is a level price travels through. On a range day, the same prices act as the edges of the range. One idea is to compare the overnight range to a 10-day average daily range. A wide overnight range suggests a larger day, and a compressed one suggests a quieter day. The cutoffs I'd start with (around 60% for wide, around 30% for narrow) are placeholders for testing, not proven thresholds. Record the ratio and the day's outcome for a few months before you let it change your plan.

Setting Up PDH and PDL in NinjaTrader 8

NinjaTrader 8 has a prior-day OHLC indicator in the indicator list. The values depend on the session template applied to the chart, so confirm whether it's using US equity regular hours or the full session, and that it matches your definition above. Give PDH and PDL distinct colors and show them on each timeframe you use. The NinjaTrader 8 help guide is the authority on indicator and session template settings.

A short pre-session routine is enough: write down PDH and PDL, note the overnight high and low, decide which of the four reactions you'd act on, and add KPL levels once the opening print exists. Then journal each touch, including the ones you didn't trade, so you can see what price actually did.