ICT 2024 Mentorship Lecture 4 Notes — 08:30 AM News & 09:30 AM Open Model + Free PDF

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Welcome to the fourth lecture notes of the ICT 2024 Mentorship series. In this lecture, Michael provides a detailed analysis of key market drivers and their implications for trading strategies.

He emphasises the importance of market-driver news released at 08:30, which can significantly influence market movements.

Michael also explores the strategic relevance of the new day and new week opening gaps, highlighting how these gaps can signal market inefficiency and liquidity.

He discusses the impact of the 09:30 market open, illustrating how this critical moment can create trading opportunities.

This lecture offers essential insights for traders looking to refine their strategies and better navigate the complexities of the market.

Below are my full Lecture 4 notes — the key elements, the key timeframes, the bullish and bearish news-day models, the 09:30 AM A-plus setup and the free PDF download.

Lecture 4 Quick Summary

ICT 2024 Mentorship Lecture 4 is the news-day model. The trader is at the screen by 08:30 AM (news release) and by 09:30 AM (equity market open). The framework uses NDOGs and NWOGs as the cluster of inefficiency that price draws toward, and the trade is taken from a 1-minute MSS at the breaker block or fair value gap. The 09:30 AM equity-market open often delivers the “A-plus” setup if price is still spooling toward the gap cluster after the 08:30 release. The Quarters of a Gap (0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1) are introduced as the key Fibonacci references for measuring partial-fill behaviour.

Key Elements (Definitions)

(I) New Day Opening Gap : abbreviated as NDOG — it is the gap between the closing price at 05:00 PM (NY local time) and the opening price at 06:00 PM (NY local time).

(II) New Week Opening Gap : abbreviated as NWOG — it is the gap between the closing price on Friday at 05:00 PM (NY local time) and the opening price on Monday at 06:00 PM (NY local time).

(III) Market Structure Shift : is the initial change in the delivery of price which indicates a short-term change in trend.

(IV) Fair Value Gap : is a three-candle formation having a gap between the 1st and 3rd candle’s wicks.

(V) Inverse Fair Value Gap : is a failed fair value gap which works inversely.

(VI) Breaker Block : is a failed order block.

(VII) Liquidity Sweep : is the phenomenon of hunting liquidity above highs and below lows.

(VIII) Relative Equal Highs : is when a high has a lower swing high on the right side of it formed due to price swing failure.

(IX) Relative Equal Lows : is when a swing low has a higher swing low on the right side of it formed due to price swing failure.

(X) Consequent Encroachment : is the 50% retracement level of a PD array.

(XI) Quarters of a Gap : use the following Fibonacci settings to find the quarter levels of a New Day Opening Gap or a New Week Opening Gap — 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.

(XII) Premium and Discount : the premium zone is above the 50% retracement level between an established high and low, while the discount zone is below the 50% retracement.

Key Timeframes

(I) 15 Minutes

(II) 5 Minutes

(III) 1 Minute

(IV) 15 Seconds

Key Times of the Day

(I) 08:30 AM (New York local time) — news release

(II) 09:30 AM (New York local time) — equity market open

Application in the Market

Lecture 4 of the ICT 2024 mentorship is built on the economic news at 08:30 AM. ICT suggests not focusing on the numbers or the news headline because the charts tell the real story.

You will use the New Day Opening Gap and the New Week Opening Gap as inefficiencies and the draw-on-liquidity.

News will draw price to the cluster of these inefficiencies, and the real move comes after 09:30 AM because of the actual market opening.

(I) Bearish Bias

If your daily bias is bearish on the news day, you look for New Day Opening Gaps and New Week Opening Gaps above price in the premium zone. If there is no gap, you can look for a Fair Value Gap or an Inversion Fair Value Gap.

Most often, before the news at 08:30 AM, price looks sandwiched between two levels that could be a gap.

At 08:30 AM, after the news release, you wait for price to draw to the cluster of new week/day opening gaps above price — or even into a fair value gap.

While going to premium, price will grab the short-term highs as buy-side liquidity.

If price continues spooling after the news release, you should wait for 09:30 AM (equity market open) to get an A-plus trade setup.

When price reaches premium, drawing to the pool of inefficiency, look for an ICT Market Structure Shift on the 1-minute timeframe — and execute a sell trade at the breaker block or fair value gap when price retraces above the 50% level.

In this case your stop loss will be above the high formed before the Market Structure Shift, and for take profit you target the NDOG or NWOG as the draw-on-liquidity. Alternatively you can target old lows like the previous session low, the previous day low or relative equal lows.

(II) Bullish Bias

If your daily bias is bullish on the news day, you find New Day Opening Gaps and New Week Opening Gaps below price in the discount zone. If there is no gap, you can look for a Fair Value Gap or an Inversion Fair Value Gap.

Most often, before the news at 08:30 AM, price looks sandwiched between two levels that could be a gap.

At 08:30 AM, after the news release, you wait for price to draw to the cluster of new week/day opening gaps below price — or even into a fair value gap.

While going to discount, price will grab the short-term lows as sell-side liquidity.

If price continues spooling after the news release, you should wait for 09:30 AM (equity market open) to get an A-plus trade setup.

When price reaches the discount zone, drawing to the pool of inefficiency, look for an ICT Market Structure Shift on the 1-minute timeframe — and execute a buy trade at the breaker block or fair value gap when price retraces below the 50% level.

In this case your stop loss will be below the low formed before the Market Structure Shift, and for take profit you target the NDOG or NWOG as the draw-on-liquidity. Alternatively you can target old highs like the previous session high, the previous day high or relative equal highs.

NOTE: If price just tests the 1st quarter (0.25 level) of the gap and runs away, this indicates that price is not going to test the consequent encroachment level of the gap and is not going to fill the gap.

Step-by-Step Lecture 4 Trade Flow

This is the exact sequence Michael Huddleston walks through in Lecture 4 for news days.

1. Annotate the active NDOGs and the NWOG. Use the daily chart and mark the gap clusters above and below current price.
2. Apply the Quarters Fibonacci on each gap. 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.0 — the 0.25 and 0.50 levels are the most reactive references.
3. Set the daily bias. Bearish targets gap clusters above (premium); bullish targets gap clusters below (discount).
4. Sit before 08:30 AM NY time. Note that price often looks sandwiched between two gap levels just before the release.
5. Watch the 08:30 AM news release. Do not trade the headline — let price draw toward the gap cluster.
6. Wait for the 09:30 AM equity-market open. If price is still spooling after the news, the 09:30 open often delivers the A-plus setup.
7. Wait for the 1-minute MSS. Confirmation of the reversal at the gap cluster.
8. Enter at the retracement. Sell at the breaker block or FVG when price retraces above the 50% level (bearish); buy at the breaker block or FVG when price retraces below the 50% level (bullish).
9. Set the stop. Above the high before the MSS (shorts) or below the low before the MSS (longs).
10. Take profit at the gap or old highs/lows. NDOG/NWOG, prior session high/low, prior day high/low, relative equal levels.
11. Read the 0.25 signal. If price taps only the 0.25 quarter and runs away, expect the gap not to fill on this leg — adjust expectations.

Best Markets for the Lecture 4 Model

The model is anchored to the 08:30 AM US news release and the 09:30 AM equity-market open, so it works best on instruments active during these windows.

• NQ (NASDAQ futures) and ES (S&P 500 futures) — the model was built for the US equity-open window. NQ and ES respond cleanest to both the 08:30 release and the 09:30 NYSE open.
• XAU/USD (Gold) — gold is one of the most reliable instruments for the 08:30 NFP, CPI and FOMC reactions because of its sensitivity to USD news.
• GBP/USD and EUR/USD — major USD pairs deliver the cleanest forex setups during the 08:30 to 09:30 ET window.

For traders in the United States who follow the CFTC FIFO and no-hedge rules, NQ and ES on the 1-minute chart are the most natural fit for the Lecture 4 news-day model. The 09:30 AM ET A-plus setup aligns directly with the NYSE-open auction on US futures and CME Group instruments.

Common Mistakes on the Lecture 4 Model

These are the recurring mistakes I see when traders first try to apply the Lecture 4 framework.

1. Trading the news headline. The lecture explicitly tells you to ignore the numbers and read the chart. Trying to interpret CPI or NFP versus expectations leads to whipsaw entries.
2. Pre-positioning before 08:30 AM. The release is the catalyst. Entries before 08:30 front-run the setup.
3. Skipping the 09:30 AM open. If price is still spooling after the release, the A-plus setup is the 09:30 NYSE open — not the 08:30 reaction.
4. Wrong gap-to-bias pairing. Bearish bias targets gaps above price (premium). Bullish bias targets gaps below price (discount). Reversing the pairing inverts the trade.
5. Ignoring the 0.25 signal. If price taps only the 0.25 quarter and runs, the gap is not going to fill on this leg. Holding for a deeper retracement misses the move.
6. Stop too tight. The stop must sit beyond the entire MSS swing — not just at the MSS pivot.

ICT Mentorship 2024 Lecture 4 Notes PDF Download

You can download below ICT mentorship 2024 lecture 4 notes in PDF for free. This PDF is sponsored by ICTPDF.COM.

To learn the complete ICT Trading strategy step by step, you can buy the ICT Trading PDF eBook on ICTPDF.COM.

Continue with the ICT 2024 Mentorship Series

This is Lecture 4 of the ICT 2024 Mentorship. The complete notes series is published lecture-by-lecture on the site.

• ICT 2024 Mentorship Lecture 1 Notes
• ICT 2024 Mentorship Lecture 2 Notes
• ICT 2024 Mentorship Lecture 3 Notes
• ICT 2024 Mentorship Lecture 5 Notes

FAQs about ICT 2024 Mentorship Lecture 4

Brief answers to the questions readers ask most often about Lecture 4.

What does ICT 2024 Mentorship Lecture 4 cover?

Lecture 4 covers the news-day model anchored to the 08:30 AM US economic-news release and the 09:30 AM equity-market open. The framework uses NDOG and NWOG gap clusters as the draw-on-liquidity, with entries at the breaker block or fair value gap after a 1-minute MSS.

What time does the Lecture 4 model start?

You should be at the screen before 08:30 AM (news release) and ready for the 09:30 AM equity-market open. Both times are New York local.

Why does Lecture 4 say to ignore the news numbers?

The lecture explicitly says the charts tell the real story. The news release is the catalyst that draws price to the gap cluster — but the entry comes from the chart structure (MSS, FVG, breaker), not from the headline.

What are the Quarters of a Gap?

The Quarters of a Gap are the Fibonacci levels 0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75 and 1.0 applied to an NDOG or NWOG. The 0.25 and 0.50 levels are the most reactive references inside the gap.

What does it mean if price tests only the 0.25 level?

If price taps only the 0.25 quarter and runs away, this indicates that price is not going to test the consequent encroachment (50%) of the gap and is not going to fill the gap on this leg.

What is the 09:30 AM “A-plus” setup?

If price is still spooling after the 08:30 AM news release, the 09:30 AM equity-market open delivers the highest-conviction setup of the day. The MSS at 09:30 typically completes the move toward the gap cluster.

How do I trade a bearish news day?

With bearish bias, find NDOG/NWOG above price in the premium zone. After the 08:30 release wait for price to draw to the gap cluster, look for a 1-minute MSS, then sell at the breaker block or FVG when price retraces above 50%. Stop above the pre-MSS high; target NDOG/NWOG or old lows.

How do I trade a bullish news day?

With bullish bias, find NDOG/NWOG below price in the discount zone. After the 08:30 release wait for price to draw to the gap cluster, look for a 1-minute MSS, then buy at the breaker block or FVG when price retraces below 50%. Stop below the pre-MSS low; target NDOG/NWOG or old highs.

What instruments work best for Lecture 4?

NQ, ES, XAU/USD, GBP/USD and EUR/USD — instruments most reactive to US 08:30 ET news and the 09:30 NYSE open.

Can I download Lecture 4 as a PDF?

Yes — the free PDF download button is available on the page. The PDF is sponsored by ICTPDF.COM.