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ICT Killzone Clock & Macro Times

Live countdowns to all four kill zones and all eight macro windows, in New York time. Daylight saving is handled automatically — there is nothing to adjust, ever.

Live4 kill zones8 macrosFree, no sign-up
New York time ET
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12 AM4 AM8 AM12 PM4 PM8 PM12 AM
Kill zones
Macro windows — all 8

This clock reads New York time straight from your device, so it stays correct through every daylight saving transition without you touching anything. That matters more than it sounds: ICT windows are fixed in New York terms and never move, but your local equivalent shifts twice a year, and it shifts on different dates depending on where you live. Most of the "my kill zone times are wrong" confusion traces back to exactly that.

The four kill zones

Kill zones are the hours when the algorithm does the bulk of its work. Outside them, price largely drifts. Inside them, the manipulation and distribution that ICT concepts describe actually happen.

Kill zoneNew York timeWhat it does
Asian7:00 PM – 10:00 PMAccumulation. Builds the range London will sweep.
London Open2:00 – 5:00 AMThe Judas swing. Best sub-window is 2:00–4:00.
New York Open7:00 – 9:00 AMHighest volume. Contains the Silver Bullet hour.
London Close10:00 AM – 12:00 PMReversal window as London desks square up.

Two of those overlap. The New York Open kill zone and the London Close kill zone both cover 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, which is not a mistake in the framework — it is why that hour carries so much of the day's decisive movement, and it is why the Silver Bullet sits exactly there. The clock above shows both as open simultaneously when it happens.

Macro times are not a second set of kill zones

The single most common misuse of macros is treating them as standalone signals. They are not. A macro is a refinement inside a kill zone: the kill zone tells you whether to be at the screen at all, and the macro tells you which minutes within it are worth watching closely.

The eight windows below match the ones documented in the site's macro times guide. If that guide is ever updated, this tool is updated with it.

MacroNew York timePhaseNote
London Macro 12:33 – 3:00 AMManipulationFirst London probe. Sets up the London kill zone move.
London Macro 24:03 – 4:30 AMManipulationHighest-probability London window. Primary forex and gold macro.
NY AM Macro 18:50 – 9:10 AMManipulationSpans the 9:00 hour turn, ahead of the 9:30 cash open.
NY AM Macro 2 ★9:50 – 10:10 AMManipulationOpens the Silver Bullet hour. The most-watched macro of the day.
NY AM Macro 310:50 – 11:10 AMDistributionThe London fix window. Often where the AM move completes.
NY AM Close11:50 AM – 12:10 PMDistributionEnd of the AM session into lunch.
NY PM Macro1:10 – 1:40 PMManipulationAfternoon session begins. Post-lunch repricing.
NY PM Close3:15 – 3:45 PMDistributionFinal push into the 4:00 PM close.

How to actually use this

Open the clock at the start of your session and let it run in a second tab. Three habits make it worth having:

If any of the terms above are unfamiliar, read the concept first — the tool is only useful once you know what you are waiting for.

Frequently asked questions

What are the ICT kill zone times?
Asian Kill Zone 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM New York time. London Open Kill Zone 2:00 to 5:00 AM, with the best window between 2:00 and 4:00. New York Open Kill Zone 7:00 to 9:00 AM, containing the Silver Bullet hour at 10:00 to 11:00. London Close Kill Zone 10:00 AM to 12:00 PM. This clock shows all four live.
Do ICT kill zone times change for daylight saving?
The times never change in New York terms. What changes is your local equivalent. If your country shifts its clocks on a different date from the United States, your local kill zone time moves by an hour for a few weeks each spring and autumn. This clock reads New York time directly from your device, so it stays correct through every transition without you adjusting anything.
What are the ICT macro times?
Eight short windows, each roughly 20–30 minutes, in New York time: 2:33–3:00 AM, 4:03–4:30 AM, 8:50–9:10 AM, 9:50–10:10 AM, 10:50–11:10 AM, 11:50 AM–12:10 PM, 1:10–1:40 PM and 3:15–3:45 PM. The 9:50–10:10 AM window is the most watched because it opens the Silver Bullet hour.
Can I trade a macro outside a kill zone?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding. Macro times are refinements inside kill zones, not replacements for them. A macro that fires outside an active kill zone has no session context behind it. Use the kill zone to decide whether you are trading at all, then use the macro to decide when to watch.
Why does the clock show a different time from my platform?
Most charting platforms default to UTC or to your exchange's time zone. ICT concepts are anchored to New York, so a chart set to anything else will place the kill zones in the wrong place. Set your platform to New York time once and the mismatch disappears permanently.
Are the kill zones the same on forex, futures and gold?
The windows are the same but their relative importance is not. On NQ and ES the New York Open kill zone dominates because of the 9:30 AM cash open. On EUR/USD and gold the London Open kill zone produces the larger and cleaner moves, and the London macros at 2:33 and 4:03 AM matter more than the New York ones.