A technically valid setup does not exist in isolation.
The same chart pattern can develop under very different market conditions. On one day, price may move in a relatively structured way. On another, an important economic announcement or a major market opening can produce sudden volatility that changes the environment within seconds.
This is why our strategy does not begin with Entry.
Before we evaluate a setup, we first ask:
Are the market conditions appropriate for our strategy?
In this lesson, we introduce two important parts of our filtering process:
the News Filter;
the Session Filter, including our Market Opening restrictions.
Their purpose is not to predict what the market will do.
Their purpose is to determine whether the conditions allow us to continue looking for a trade.
Sometimes, one of the best decisions a trader can make is simply:
No trade today.
The News Filter
The Xcelerate Trade strategy is primarily built around technical analysis and observable price behaviour.
We are not trying to predict whether inflation will come above or below expectations.
We are not trying to anticipate an employment report.
And we are not trying to guess what a central bank will announce.
Major economic events can rapidly change volatility, liquidity, spreads and order flow. Price can move significantly in seconds as market participants react to new information.
When that happens, the environment in which our technical setup developed can change very quickly.
For that reason, checking the economic calendar is part of our preparation before every trading session.
It is not something we check after finding an attractive setup.
The filter comes first.
Checking the Economic Calendar
An economic calendar shows scheduled events that may affect financial markets.
Before beginning the session, we want to know:
what is scheduled;
when it will be released;
which currency or economy it primarily affects;
how significant the event is classified by the calendar.
Economic calendars typically classify scheduled events according to their expected level of impact. For our preparation, we focus particularly on events classified as High Impact by the calendar we use and related to the US economy or USD.
You can check upcoming economic events directly through the Xcelerate Trade Market News section, available on our platform:
Market News: Xcelerate Trade Market News
Other reputable economic calendars, such as the FTMO Economic Calendar, can also be used.
The important point is not the specific calendar. It is the habit.
Before analysing the chart, check the calendar.
Checking it takes very little time, but it tells us whether the trading day passes or fails one of the first filters in our process.
Because our strategy is built around SPX500, we pay particular attention to major events related to the United States and USD.
Which Economic Events Matter to Our Strategy?
Not every economic release has the same relevance.
Our primary concern is with major events capable of producing substantial market reactions.
Common examples include:
CPI - Consumer Price Index;
Core CPI;
Non-Farm Payrolls - NFP;
Unemployment Rate;
FOMC Statement;
FOMC Press Conference;
Federal Funds Rate decisions;
major speeches by the Federal Reserve Chair, when classified as High Impact by the economic calendar.
This is not intended to be an exhaustive permanent list of every event that can affect SPX500.
Economic calendars and market conditions change, and other events may occasionally be classified as High Impact.
The principle is more important than memorizing a list:
before the session begins, check whether the day contains a major High Impact US/USD event.
The Xcelerate Trade News Rule
Within the strategy taught in this chapter, we use a deliberately conservative rule:
A trading day containing a major High Impact USD event is treated as a News Filter failure, and we do not execute the strategy that session.
This gives us a simple decision:
No disqualifying High Impact USD event → News Filter passed
Major High Impact USD event → News Filter failed → No trade
Notice what we are not asking:
Will the news make SPX500 rise or fall?
We are asking:
Does this session meet the conditions under which we are prepared to trade our strategy?
Those are very different questions.
If the News Filter fails, an attractive technical setup does not override it.
We do not modify the filter because the chart looks too good to miss.
There will always be another session.
Missing a trade costs us nothing. Taking a trade outside our process can cost us capital.
This is one of the first examples of how the Xcelerate framework protects the process before we reach confirmation and execution.
Why Can Major News Change the Trading Environment?
Economic announcements introduce new information into the market.
When that information is released, many participants may react at the same time. Orders can arrive rapidly, liquidity conditions can change and price may move much faster than it did only seconds earlier.
Depending on the instrument, broker and market conditions, we may observe:
unusually large candles;
rapid movement in either direction;
increased slippage;
wider spreads;
fast movement through nearby technical levels;
abrupt changes in short-term Market Structure.
A technical level that looked precise before the announcement may therefore behave very differently during or immediately after the release.
This does not mean technical analysis suddenly becomes useless.
It means the market environment has changed.
Our strategy is not designed to predict that transition.
So we filter it out.
Market Opening
Economic news is not the only event capable of changing market behaviour.
The opening of a major trading session can also produce a significant change in participation and activity.
As a session opens, new orders enter the market, positions are adjusted and participants respond to information accumulated while that market was less active.
The result can be a rapid increase in volume and volatility.
Within our strategy, two openings deserve particular attention:
the London open;
the New York cash-market open.
These opening restrictions form part of our Session Filter.
The exact clock times shown in our examples follow the Xcelerate reference schedule introduced in Lesson 3.
As explained there, UTC relationships can shift seasonally. Always use the Academy session reference applicable to the period being analysed rather than assuming that a fixed UTC offset applies throughout the entire year.
The London Open
In our reference schedule, London opens at: 03:00.
But our strategy does not begin executing trades at 03:00.
We wait.
The first 15 minutes after the opening can contain rapid repricing and increased volatility as participation changes.
During this period, we may observe:
volatility spikes;
rapid tests of nearby highs and lows;
impulsive moves;
Liquidity Sweeps;
short-lived directional moves that do not develop into valid setups.
We do not need to label these movements as manipulation or assume that the market is deliberately trapping anyone.
We simply observe that the opening environment can behave differently from the conditions we want for execution.
For that reason, our Session Filter contains a clear London opening restriction:
03:00–03:15 → Observe; no execution
03:15 onward → Opening restriction ends; we may begin evaluating setups if the remaining filters are also passed
This is the same timing framework introduced in Lesson 3.
Now we understand why it exists.
Why Do We Wait Until 03:15?
The purpose of waiting is not to predict what the first 15 minutes will do.
It is to remove a period that the strategy deliberately excludes from execution.
Based on the testing behind the Xcelerate strategy, this opening window is excluded from execution.
This gives us a simple rule:
We do not need to be first. We need our conditions to be present.
A large candle at 03:02 may look attractive.
A Liquidity Sweep at 03:07 may look familiar.
Price may even move exactly where we expected afterward.
None of that changes the filter.
Before 03:15, we observe.
After 03:15, we may begin evaluating the setup if the remaining conditions are present.
The difference is not what the chart looks like.
It is whether our process allows us to act.
The New York Open
The second important opening for our strategy is the New York cash-market open, shown in our reference schedule at: 09:30.
This is particularly relevant because our strategy is built around SPX500, whose underlying US equity market becomes fully active at the cash open.
The opening can bring a substantial change in market activity.
During the first minutes, we may see:
fast movement in both directions;
Liquidity Sweeps;
increased slippage or wider spreads, depending on the execution venue;
strong impulses;
rapid changes in short-term Market Structure.
For this reason, our Session Filter includes another opening restriction:
09:30–09:45 → Do not initiate new positions
After this period, we reassess the market rather than assuming that conditions have automatically become suitable.
The clock does not create a setup.
It only tells us when a restricted period has ended.
The remaining filters and confirmations still need to be present.
This restriction applies to initiating new positions.
It does not introduce an automatic rule requiring an existing position to be closed at 09:30. Management of a trade that was already open before the New York cash-market open continues according to the trade-management rules of the strategy.
Volatility Does Not Automatically Mean Opportunity
Large candles attract attention.
Fast markets feel active.
And for a beginner, that activity can easily look like opportunity.
But more movement does not automatically mean a better trading environment.
When volatility rises sharply, price can travel farther and faster, execution conditions can deteriorate and technical levels can be crossed rapidly.
Our objective is not to participate in the greatest possible number of market movements.
Our objective is to apply the strategy under the conditions for which it was designed.
This gives us an important distinction:
movement creates possibility; our process determines whether that possibility belongs to us.
Strategy Rules for News and Market Openings
At this stage, our filtering process is becoming more concrete.
News Filter
Check the economic calendar before the session.
No major High Impact USD event → News Filter passed
Major High Impact USD event → News Filter failed → No trade
Session Filter - London Opening
During the first 15 minutes after the London open:
03:00–03:15 → Observe; no execution
After 03:15, the opening restriction has ended, but the remaining conditions still need to be present.
Session Filter - New York Opening
During the first 15 minutes after the New York cash-market open:
09:30–09:45 → Do not initiate new positions
After 09:45, reassess the market and continue only if the strategy conditions allow it.
These filters are not optional suggestions that we ignore when a chart looks attractive.
A filter has a simple job:
either we pass it and continue, or we fail it and stop.
What to Avoid…
Checking the Calendar Only After Finding a Setup
The News Filter belongs at the beginning of the process.
If we first become emotionally invested in a setup and only then check the calendar, we make it easier to rationalize an exception.
Check first. Analyse second.
Trying to Predict the News
Our strategy does not require us to forecast CPI, NFP or an FOMC decision.
Even correctly predicting the economic number does not guarantee correctly predicting the market reaction.
The filter removes the need to make that prediction.
Entering During the First 15 Minutes Because the Move Looks Obvious
A strong opening candle can create urgency.
That does not change the Session Filter.
If execution is restricted, we wait.
Assuming the Restricted Window Ending Means We Must Trade
03:15 does not create an Entry.
09:45 does not create an Entry.
These times simply tell us that a restricted opening period has ended.
We still need the rest of the strategy.
Changing the Filter After Seeing the Outcome
Sometimes a move that occurred during an excluded period will later look perfect.
That does not mean the filter was wrong.
A strategy is evaluated through a consistent process over a meaningful sample, not by rewriting its conditions after seeing what one individual chart did.
A Practical Example
Suppose we are preparing to trade SPX500 during the London session.
Before detailed chart analysis, we check the economic calendar.
There is no major High Impact USD event scheduled for the day.
News Filter → passed.
We then prepare the chart using the framework from Lesson 3.
HOD and LOD are already marked.
London opens at 03:00 in our reference schedule.
At 03:06, price accelerates toward HOD.
At 03:09, price trades above it.
The Buy Side Liquidity associated with HOD has been taken.
The move may look interesting.
Do we begin evaluating a Sell?
Not yet.
We are still inside the restricted London opening period.
The Session Filter has not yet passed for execution.
At 03:15, the opening restriction ends.
Now, if the Liquidity conditions and the confirmations we will learn in the following lessons are present, we may continue through the strategy process.
Notice what happened.
The chart gave us something interesting at 03:09.
The strategy told us to wait.
The market creates movement. The strategy decides which movement we are allowed to act on.
Now consider a second day.
The technical chart looks excellent, but before the session we identify a major High Impact USD event.
News Filter → failed.
What do we do?
We do not execute the strategy that session.
There is no need to continue searching for reasons to trade.
The filter has already done its job.
Your Turn
For the next several trading days, add a pre-session filter check to your routine.
Before analysing possible Entries:
Open the Xcelerate Trade Market News section or another reputable economic calendar.
Identify any major High Impact US/USD events scheduled for the day.
Record the exact release time.
Determine whether the day passes or fails the News Filter.
Mark the London open and its first 15-minute restricted window on your chart.
Mark the New York cash-market open and its first 15-minute restricted window.
Observe how price behaves during those periods compared with the surrounding session.
Then review several historical trading days from the Academy resources or TradingView.
For each day, ask:
Was there a major High Impact US/USD event?
Would the News Filter have passed or failed?
Did an interesting movement occur during a restricted opening period?
Would our process have allowed us to act on it?
Do not judge the filter based on whether an excluded move would eventually have won.
Instead, practise making the decision using only the information that would have been available before execution.
The objective is to make the filtering process automatic.
Xcelerate Trade Perspective
Technical analysis tells us what is happening on the chart.
A trading process also needs to tell us when not to act on it.
That is the role of the filters introduced in this lesson.
The News Filter determines whether the day is eligible for our strategy.
The Session Filter determines whether we are inside an execution-eligible period, including the restrictions around the London and New York openings.
Neither predicts direction.
Neither guarantees that a trade taken afterward will win.
Their purpose is more disciplined than that:
they determine whether we are allowed to continue looking for a trade.
Our framework is becoming progressively more selective:
News Filter → Session Filter → Liquidity Filter → Confirmations → Execution
And this reveals an important feature of a structured strategy:
before it tells us when to trade, it should also be capable of telling us when not to trade.
So far, we have learned where to focus and when we are allowed to continue.
In the next lesson, we begin learning what price must show us before a potential setup can move from filtering to confirmation.