Hi, I trade the ES off a 5 min. and am trying to get a feel for Fibonacci levels. Where is the most effective placement of this study with regard to the start of the day? Meaning 15:30 the day prior or midnight the actual day. For example, my chart software is automatically placing today's low at midnight. I would think it would be 15:30 yest. Thanks much.
The most effective placement for a single retracement series to factor info from yesterday's close into today's open is actually not dependent on a specific time. You would want to run the retracement from the nearest swing high or low to today's opening price, and update it as new highs or lows are made throughout the day. Of course this is more effective if you factor in additional swings as well and look for overlaps from different swings. Here's a current 15 min ES. The major retracements are from the low near the close yesterday to today's current high.
I don't use market open or any other specific time to plot fibs. I find it best to use the clearest visual pivot. Correlating areas from price or other indicators can make it easier to predict pivot points.
I agree mostly with these guys, the previous day's high/low may also be the most relevant swing point for the fib to be measured against but not always. Scale out of charts and step back, and look for most obvious high/low swing points and use them. Choose most valid swing points can take practice to figure out as they are not alway mechanical but the larger the swing, the more valid usually.