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Cash session volume profile: market hours only, set up for NSE

What a cash session volume profile is, why traders build it from market hours only, and how to set the session to 09:15-15:30 for NSE in SuperCharting.

A cash session volume profile is a volume profile built only from the regular market hours of each day, the "cash" or main session, and not from early or late trading around it. Many traders use it because most of the day's real volume and the levels other traders watch come from those hours. In SuperCharting you build one with the Session volume profile indicator by setting Sessions to Market only and the Market session to the exchange's hours, for example 0915-1530 for NSE.

Cash session vs all hours

The term comes from markets that trade far longer than their main session. US index futures, for example, trade almost around the clock, but the volume that sets the day's key levels comes mostly while the stock exchange is open. A profile over all hours mixes that heavy session volume with thin overnight trade, which can pull the point of control (POC) and value area away from where the main session actually did business.

A cash session profile keeps only the main hours, so:

• the POC is the price where the regular session traded the most,
• the value area (70% of the session's volume by default) reflects regular-hours trade,
• the previous day's cash-session POC, value area high (VAH) and value area low (VAL) become reference levels for the next session.

The general idea of a volume profile is explained in the volume profile guide.

What it means for Indian stocks and indices

For NSE equities and indices such as NSE:NIFTY and NSE:RELIANCE, the market data on SuperCharting covers the regular session, and these feeds carry no pre-open or after-market candles. So for NSE symbols an "All" profile and a "Market only" profile set to 0915-1530 are usually the same. Setting the session explicitly is still worth doing: it makes the profile start and end exactly at the market's open and close, and it keeps the setting correct if you copy the indicator to another chart.

The difference matters more on symbols that trade outside a stock market's hours, such as commodities, currencies or index futures from other exchanges. There, choose the hours you consider the main session and type them into Market session or Custom session.

The session settings in SuperCharting

• All builds one profile from every bar of each day.
• Market only uses the Market session times.
• Custom uses the Custom session times, for example a morning-only profile.

Times are in the exchange's own time zone, so 0915-1530 means India time for NSE symbols wherever you are. The default 0930-1600 is the US cash session; change it for NSE.

The other profile settings work as usual: Rows layout and Row size (24 rows by default; see how to choose the row size), Value area volume (70%), and Extend POC right, Extend VAH right and Extend VAL right to carry yesterday's levels into today.

How to set up a cash session volume profile for NSE

1. Open a chart, for example NSE:NIFTY on the 15m interval.
2. Click Indicators, choose Technicals, open the Profiles chip and add Session volume profile.
3. Open Settings from the gear in the chart legend.
4. Set Sessions to Market only.
5. Set Market session to 0915-1530.
6. Tick Extend POC right, Extend VAH right and Extend VAL right so the previous session's levels run across today.
7. Click Ok. Save it with Indicator templates if you want the same setup on every chart.

For a single morning or afternoon, use Custom instead, for example Custom session 0915-1100 for an opening-range profile.

A practical example

On NSE:BANKNIFTY 5m, a trader sets the cash session profile with the previous day's POC, VAH and VAL extended. At the open they note whether price starts inside yesterday's value area or outside it. Opening inside often means a balanced, range-bound start; opening well outside, with price holding there, often means the market is looking for new value. These are common ways of reading a profile, not signals; what you do with them is your own decision, and past behaviour does not guarantee what happens next. Pair the levels with a session VWAP to see where the average price of the day sits against them.

Frequently asked questions

What is a cash session volume profile?

A volume profile built only from the regular trading hours of each day, so its POC and value area reflect main-session trade rather than thin early or late trading.

What session times should I use for NSE?

0915-1530, India time. Set Sessions to Market only and type those times into Market session.

Why is the default 0930-1600?

That is the regular session of US stock exchanges. Change it for Indian or other markets.

Is there a difference between All and Market only on NSE?

Usually not, because the NSE data here has no pre-open or after-market candles. On symbols that trade longer hours, Market only removes the thin trade outside your chosen session.