ICT Decoded · London Reversal Daily Profile
What Is the ICT London Reversal Daily Profile?
By Steve H — reads every firm’s official rulebook, checks prices and codes daily, and maintains the Enigma Score · Methodology · Editorial policy · Last updated October 31, 2026
ICT concepts were created and are taught by Michael J. Huddleston, The Inner Circle Trader (X · YouTube). This lesson is FundedEnigma’s own summary, not affiliated with or endorsed by ICT.
In short: The ICT London reversal is a daily profile in which the London session, 2 to 5 AM New York time, runs one side of the overnight range and turns, making the wick of the day. In the New York continuation, New York then trades past London's other extreme and builds the candle's body.
ICT London Reversal: The Daily Profile Where London Turns and New York Continues (Real NQ Data) · 8:02 · published October 31, 2026 · part of the ICT Concepts Decoded playlist
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The full video is embedded above this article: ICT London Reversal: The Daily Profile Where London Turns and New York Continues (Real NQ Data). This page is the written version, with every chart walked through step by step. Jump to any part of the video:
Key facts: the London reversal at a glance
| Term | What it is | When (New York time) |
|---|---|---|
| Daily profile | A template for how the sessions build the day's candle | Recognised as the day unfolds; labelled for sure after the close |
| Asia range | The overnight range London runs one side of | 8 PM to midnight |
| London reversal | London runs one side only, the Asia or previous day's low (or high), to a new extreme since 8 PM, and closes on the other side of its 2 AM open | 2 to 5 AM |
| New York continuation | New York trades past London's other extreme, in London's new direction | 7 AM to the 4 PM close |
| The level to respect | London's extreme (its low on a bullish day) | If price trades back beyond it, the profile is off |
| How often (our data) | About 1 day in 6 by our rules; the full profile held about 3 in 10 of those | 553 NQ sessions, Jun 2024 to Sep 2026 |
Last verified 2026-10-31. All charts below are real historical CME NQ futures data, shown in New York time.
Here is the profile on one day. On September 23, 2026, London ran above the overnight highs at 2:31 AM and topped at 31,094.75 eight minutes later. It then closed below the price it opened at, and New York carried price lower, through the previous day's low at 10:20 AM. That London high was the high of the day.
What is a daily profile in ICT?
A daily profile is one of the usual ways the sessions build the day's candle. ICT (Michael J. Huddleston) describes a few of them. They are templates, not forecasts: you recognise one as the day unfolds, and you only know for sure after the close. The London reversal is the classic one.
On a bullish day, London's run below the overnight range becomes the low of the candle, and New York's leg higher becomes the body: open, low, high, close. That is the same shape as the power of three. London's run is the manipulation and New York's leg is the distribution; the profile says which session does which job.
How do you identify a London reversal?
In this lesson we use three windows and three conditions, so the profile can be tested on real data. London's window matches our killzones lesson, and the Asia range matches our power of three lesson: the Asia range from 8 PM to midnight, London from 2 to 5 AM, and New York from 7 AM to the 4 PM close (the whole session, not only the 7-10 AM killzone).
A bullish London reversal needs:
- London trades below the Asia low or the previous day's low, and makes the lowest price since 8 PM.
- London does not trade above the Asia high or the previous day's high. It runs one side only.
- London closes, at 5 AM, above its 2 AM open.
The New York continuation adds one condition: New York trades above the London high. The bearish version is the mirror.
What to watch while it forms
- The first sign of the turn comes inside London: a change in state of delivery right after the run, then a market structure shift to confirm it.
- London's extreme decides whether the profile is alive. On a bullish day, if price trades back under the London low, the reversal is off, however it looked at 5 AM.
What does a London reversal look like on real charts?
One bullish day, one bearish day, and one that failed.
Example 1: bullish, March 17, 2025
- The Asia range runs from 19,564.50 to 19,628.50.
- London opens at 19,594.00. At 2:22 AM it runs the Asia low, and at 3:18 AM it makes its low, 19,554.75. Its high stays just under the Asia high.
- On the 15-minute chart, the 3:45 AM candle closes back above 19,577.00, the open of the down candle that started the final drop: a change in state of delivery.
- London closes at 19,620.50, above its open. A bullish London reversal.
- By 5:05 AM price is above the London high. New York keeps going: Friday's high of 19,742.50 at 8:34 AM, then 19,959.25 at 2:53 PM. The London low is not traded again that day.
The low of the whole futures day was earlier, at 7:06 PM on Sunday (19,550.50), before the Asia window. London's low was the low from midnight on.
Example 2: bearish, September 23, 2026
- The Asia high is 31,065.75, and the previous day's high sits a quarter point below it. Just before 8 PM, price had already poked about five points above both.
- London opens at 31,029.25. At 2:31 AM it runs above all of them, and at 2:39 AM it tops out at 31,094.75. It does not reach the Asia low.
- On the 5-minute chart, the 3:00 AM candle closes just below the open of the up candles that led into the high: a change in state of delivery. At 3:05 AM, the shift.
- London closes at 31,016.50, below its open. A bearish London reversal.
- At 5:48 AM price slips under the London low, and New York carries it lower: the Asia low at 7:21 AM, the previous day's low at 10:20 AM, and 30,642.75 at 10:26 AM. New York never gets back to the London high.
When it fails: July 23, 2026
- London runs the Asia low at 3:09 AM and the previous day's low at 3:42 AM, down to 28,922.25.
- At 4:05 AM there is a 5-minute change in state of delivery, and London closes at 29,103.00, above its open. By the rules above, a bullish London reversal.
- Just after 5 AM price pokes above the London high, but New York never trades above it. At 7:38 AM it trades back under the London low, and by 11:31 AM it is down at 28,432.50.
- That is the level to respect. Once price takes London's extreme, the reversal is off, just like the change in state of delivery that started it.
How often does the London reversal happen, and does it hold?
About one day in six, and the full profile held on about three in ten of those. We ran the rules above on 553 Nasdaq futures sessions from June 2024 to September 2026, leaving out the days around contract rolls.
- 89 days were London reversals by these conditions: about one day in six.
- New York traded past London's other extreme on 85% of them. That sounds strong, but on any day New York trades above the London high about four days in five, and below the London low about three in four. That part alone tells you little.
- What changed was the order. After a London reversal, price broke London's extreme in the new direction first on about three days in four. On an ordinary day, it is about half.
- The full profile, with price never trading back beyond London's low or high by 4 PM, held about three days in ten. That is better than the one in five of an ordinary day, but still the minority. Treat the profile as a lean, and keep London's extreme in view.
How do you use the London reversal in your own charting?
Use it to describe the day as it builds, not to predict it.
- Label it after London, confirm it after the close. The profile is a recap template.
- Keep the London extreme marked. It is the line that cancels the profile.
- Expect the continuation to start early. On our data, about two in three had already broken London's extreme by 7 AM, between the London close and the New York open, and most of the rest came before 10 AM.
- Do not treat it as a signal. This page describes how price behaved, not a trade.
More concepts in the series are on the ICT Concepts Decoded hub. If you trade futures with a prop firm, you can look up a firm's rules on the challenges page or set two firms side by side on the compare page.
Frequently asked questions
Is the London reversal the same as the Judas swing?
They describe the same move from two angles. The Judas swing is ICT's name for the false run against the day's direction; in a London reversal, London is the session that makes it. See our power of three lesson.
Does London always make the high or low of the day?
No. Even after a London reversal, price stayed on the right side of London's extreme until 4 PM on only about three days in ten, against about one in five on an ordinary day. And "the day" depends on where you start it: on March 17, 2025 the futures-day low came on Sunday evening, before London.
Why use the Asia range from 8 PM to midnight?
It matches our liquidity and power of three lessons. The previous day's high and low count too.
Does the London reversal work better with the daily bias?
Not in our sample. We did not find a better hold rate when the profile agreed with the daily bias read, so this page treats them separately.
Is the London reversal a trade signal?
No. It is a template for describing the day. This page does not give trade signals.
Sources
- Concept: daily profiles, including the London reversal and New York continuation, as taught by ICT (The Inner Circle Trader, Michael J. Huddleston), who originated them. The rules, examples and charts on this page are our own.
- Data: every chart and the 553-session count are real historical CME Nasdaq-100 E-mini (NQ) futures data, shown in New York time.
- Video: ICT London Reversal: The Daily Profile Where London Turns and New York Continues (Real NQ Data), FundedEnigma.
Last verified: 2026-10-31. Written by Steve H.
Disclaimer: This page is for education only and is not financial advice. Trading futures involves substantial risk of loss. Past price behaviour does not guarantee future results.
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