Market Profile Day Types and Opening Types: Trend, Normal, Neutral, Open Drive and Open Auction
Lesson 5 of 9 · Intermediate
Why classify trading days?
Every trading day has a "personality". If you can recognise early whether today is more likely a rotation day or a trend day, you make better decisions about entries, targets and even about not trading at all. Market Profile classifies days by two things: the size of the initial balance (IB) and how the range extends later in the day.
The classification comes from the classic Market Profile literature. Keep in mind that the day type is usually only certain at the end of the session. During the day the aim is to update probabilities as evidence builds, not to stamp a definitive label on the first hour.
Normal, normal variation and trend days
- Normal day: a wide IB that builds most of the day's range in the first hour. There is little or no range extension. The profile is usually D-shaped. The market is in balance and short-term traders are running it.
- Normal variation day: a moderate IB with range extension on one side, so that the day's range reaches roughly twice the IB. This is one of the most common day types.
- Trend day: a relatively narrow IB, only a small part of the final range. Price opens near one extreme, extends in one direction over several consecutive periods and closes near the other extreme. The profile is narrow and elongated with single prints through the middle. Value keeps moving all day.
Hypothetical GC example: the IB runs from 4,002 to 4,010 (8 dollars). From period C onward price makes new highs again and again and closes near 4,041. The range is about 40 dollars, roughly five times the IB. These features are consistent with a trend day. Prices are illustrative only.
Neutral and double distribution days
Neutral day: range extension happens on both sides of the IB. Both sides tried to take control. Where the day closes matters:
- Neutral center: the close is in the middle of the range. Neither side won and balance held.
- Neutral extreme: the close is near the high or low. One side finally got the upper hand, which is more informative for the next day.
Double distribution trend day: the IB is usually narrow, the market balances in one area for a while, then moves quickly to another level and builds a second value area there. Single prints or an obvious LVN remain between the two distributions. In gold these days often coincide with mid-session news events such as Federal Reserve speakers.
| Day type | IB | Range extension | Typical shape |
| Normal | Wide | Negligible | D |
| Normal variation | Moderate | One side, up to about twice the IB | D or P/b |
| Trend | Narrow | One side, sustained | Narrow and elongated |
| Neutral | Moderate | Both sides | Wide, symmetrical or with a strong end |
| Double distribution | Narrow | One side, sudden | Two bulges with an LVN between |
Opening types
How the market behaves in the first minutes is the first clue to participants' conviction. The four classic types:
- Open Drive: the market moves strongly in one direction from the start and does not return to the opening price. It signals the highest conviction and initiative participation.
- Open Test Drive: the market first tests one side, usually a reference level such as yesterday's high, finds insufficient trade there, comes back and drives hard the other way through the opening price.
- Open Rejection Reverse: the market goes one way, is rejected and returns into the opening range, but without the force of an Open Test Drive. Lower conviction.
- Open Auction: price rotates above and below the opening price and neither side is in a hurry. When this happens inside yesterday's range, a balanced day becomes more likely.
The location of the open matters as much as its type. An open inside yesterday's value area generally fits acceptance of the previous value. An open outside value but inside yesterday's range is a middle case. An open beyond yesterday's entire range raises the possibility of imbalance.
Gold-specific notes and limits
In gold, the COMEX open at 08:20 New York time comes only ten minutes before many US economic releases at 08:30 New York time (13:30 UTC in winter, 12:30 UTC in summer). On major data days, the opening type is more a reaction to the release than a sign of participants' conviction. Also, because the market trades around the clock, part of the day's "decision" may already have been made in the London session before the COMEX open. For that reason some traders measure the IB from the London open as well and compare the two definitions.
Day classification is a framework for thinking. How common each day type is in gold, or what share of each opening type follows through, depends on the period, the session definition and the market regime, and has to be counted on your own data.
Common mistakes
- Locking in a day type during the first hour and sticking to it when the evidence changes.
- Fading a day that shows every sign of a trend day simply because price has gone "too far".
- Ignoring the economic calendar when interpreting the opening type between 08:20 and 08:30 New York time.
- Interpreting the opening type without considering where it sits relative to the previous day's value and range.
What does volume say here?
Order flow helps you read the opening type earlier and more precisely:
- In a genuine Open Drive, cumulative delta stays consistently in the same direction from the first minutes and pullbacks occur on light aggressive volume.
- In an Open Test Drive, there is usually absorption at the test point: heavy aggressive volume toward the reference level, no progress in price, and then a sudden flip in delta.
- On a neutral day, comparing the delta of the two range extensions shows which attempt was more serious.
📊 See real gold futures volume behind these ideas: free order flow course · today's gold volume map
Frequently asked questions
What are the characteristics of a trend day in Market Profile?
A narrow IB relative to the day's range, an open near one extreme and a close near the other, sustained extension in one direction, a narrow profile and single prints through the middle.
What is the difference between Open Drive and Open Test Drive?
In an Open Drive the market goes one way from the start and does not come back. In an Open Test Drive it first tests the opposite side, is rejected, and then moves strongly in the main direction.
When can I be sure of the day type?
Usually only at the end of the session. During the day you can update probabilities using the IB size, the opening type and the pattern of range extension.
Education only, not a recommendation to buy or sell; we never give signals. Price examples are illustrative. Test any method on a demo account first, with strict risk management.