Opening-Range Breakout (ORB)

The opening range is the high and low of the first 15-30 minutes of trading. A confirmed breakout above the OR high (with volume) often signals directional continuation; a breakdown below the OR low signals the opposite. This article covers the math, the rules, and the failure modes.

Why the opening range matters

The opening range encodes overnight order imbalance, premarket news digestion, and the first wave of institutional flow. By the time the OR is set, the market has priced in most of the morning's information shock.

The breakout rule

Long entry: price closes a 5-minute bar above the OR high with above-average volume. Short entry: mirror inverse. Stop: opposite side of the OR. Target ladder: ATR-based multipliers.

Failure modes

OR breakouts fail in low-VIX chop, on Fed days, and into major economic releases. The Omni Trade Edge engine filters these contexts automatically.