| Market Hours Strategy | Review the prior session's Volume Profile and mark POC, VAH, VAL and any naked POCs before the day (T) session opens (SGX securities pre-open 08:30-09:00 SGT). • Day (T) session ~09:00-17:15 SGT - note where price opens relative to the prior Value Area (OiV/OaV/ObV); the developing profile is thin early, so let the Initial Balance form. • Mid-session (~10:00-16:00 SGT) is the best window for Volume Profile trades as the profile matures and POC/value stabilise. • SGX index futures run a T+1 night session (~17:00-05:15 SGT next day) covering European and US hours. Volume keeps building, so the profile that matters spans both sessions - use a continuous (T + T+1) profile, not just the day session. |
| Sgx Specific | MSCI Singapore Free Index Futures (SiMSCI) - use 30-min or hourly bars to build the profile; the daily POC is the key reference level. • FTSE China A50 is SGX's most liquid equity index; value areas are wide and shift fast on China headlines - rebuild the profile frequently. • Volume Profile needs genuine volume-at-price; it is most reliable on the liquid index futures, since many SGX single-stock futures are too thin for a meaningful profile. • SiMSCI = S$100 x index; FTSE China A50 = US$1 x index (USD-settled); Nikkei 225 = JPY 500 x index (or US$5 x index for the USD contract). Factor the multiplier and contract currency into position sizing - confirm the live multiplier and minimum tick on sgx.com. • Use SGX market data or a reliable broker feed that provides accurate volume-at-price; consolidated or aggregated feeds can distort the profile. |
| Sgx Commodities | SGX is the global benchmark venue for iron ore derivatives; profiles show distinct HVNs around heavily traded levels - excellent for level-based entries. • TSR20 and RSS3 rubber profiles can be patchy; use longer periods to build a representative profile. • SGX lists a Kilobar Gold contract; gold profiles show clear value areas, though liquidity is lighter than COMEX - confirm volume is adequate before trusting levels. • SGX commodity sessions are long and split across T and T+1; profiles span multiple sessions, so use composite or continuous profiles. |
| Fx Futures | SGX USD/CNH is the flagship listed offshore RMB future and deeply liquid; profiles form well and POC/value levels are reliable. • SGX INR/USD has lower volume; profiles form slowly - prefer daily/weekly composites. • Global FX volume and the US Dollar Index (DXY) drive FX-futures profile formation; cross-check the dollar before acting on single-pair levels. • MAS manages the SGD through a trade-weighted S$NEER band; policy-review surprises create distinct volume spikes/HVNs - mark these levels. |
| Tax Implications | Singapore does not impose a capital gains tax; gains on trades that are capital in nature are not taxable. • Where trading is frequent and systematic enough to amount to carrying on a trade (the IRAS 'badges of trade'), profits are taxable as income under s10(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act and related losses may be deductible. • There is no Securities Transaction Tax; costs are SGX trading and clearing fees plus GST (9% from 1 January 2024) on brokerage and exchange fees. Stamp duty (0.2%) applies to share transfers but not to futures. • Document the profile levels (POC/VAH/VAL/HVN/LVN) used for entry and exit, with dates and rationale, to support the capital-vs-revenue characterisation if IRAS reviews your activity. • SGX derivatives are governed by the Securities and Futures Act, overseen by MAS with SGX RegCo as the front-line regulator; dealing is typically done through a CMS-licensed intermediary. |
| Fund Flow Correlation | Singapore has no daily FII/DII print like India; SGX weekly institutional and foreign fund-flow data, together with the volume footprint in the profile itself, reveal where large players are active - these create prominent HVNs. • Large institutional trades show up in the profile as volume clusters or spikes at specific prices; mark these as key levels for future sessions. • Profiles around SGX quarterly expiry and the roll show institutional rolling activity; treat roll-period levels with extra care. • Combine SGX fund-flow data and the relevant macro driver (China for A50, Japan/US for Nikkei, S$NEER and the dollar for FX) with profile analysis for context. |
You need price and volume data at sufficient granularity. For accurate profiles, tick or 1-minute data is best. Most modern charting platforms (TradingView, NinjaTrader, Sierra Chart) calculate Volume Profile automatically. For Singapore markets, ensure your data feed provides accurate volume at each price level. SGX data or reliable broker data feeds work well.
Match the profile period to your trading timeframe. For intraday trading, use previous day's profile plus developing session profile. For swing trading, use daily and weekly composite profiles. For positional trading, use weekly and monthly profiles. The key is that the profile period should represent activity relevant to your holding period.
POC can differ based on: (1) Tick/row size used for aggregation, (2) Exact time boundaries of the profile, (3) Data source differences. Minor variations are normal. For consistency, use the same settings across your analysis. The exact POC level matters less than understanding the general area of highest activity.
Wait for price to approach POC from above or below. Look for rejection candlestick (hammer from below, shooting star from above). Confirm with above-average volume. Enter on close of rejection candle. Stop beyond POC by 1 ATR or nearest LVN. Target: next HVN or opposite VA boundary. POC bounces work best in ranging conditions.
VWAP is a single line showing the volume-weighted average price throughout the session - a moving fair value. Volume Profile is a complete histogram showing volume distribution at every price level. VWAP tells you one fair value number; Profile tells you the entire distribution. They complement each other well.
Open in Value (OiV): Balanced day likely, trade VA boundaries. Open above Value (OaV): Bullish bias, VAH becomes support if holding. Open below Value (ObV): Bearish bias, VAL becomes resistance if failing. Open Drive: Strong conviction, trade with direction. The opening sets the day's context and bias.
Initial Balance (IB) is the first hour's price range. Wide IB often leads to rotational day within IB. Narrow IB often leads to breakout. IB high and low become tactical levels. IB breakout (price exceeding IB range) often leads to continuation. Measure move: IB width often projects the extension target.
Draw Fibonacci retracements from significant swings. Overlay on Volume Profile. When a Fibonacci level (38.2%, 50%, 61.8%) aligns with an HVN, it's a high-probability confluence level. When Fibonacci falls in an LVN, it's less significant. Prioritize trading at levels with both Fibonacci and profile confluence.
Poor highs/lows are session extremes with single prints (very low volume). They indicate unfinished auction - price moved there but wasn't accepted. They're likely to be revisited. Use naked poor highs/lows as targets for mean reversion trades. They're weaker than 'excess' (single prints with clear rejection).
Composite profiles aggregate volume across multiple sessions (weekly, monthly). They reveal longer-term institutional levels. Weekly POC is more significant than daily POC. Use monthly composite for swing trading levels. Confluence between daily, weekly, and monthly levels creates the strongest S/R zones.
Start with POC as initial VA. Iteratively compare volume at prices above and below current VA. Add the higher-volume price to VA. Repeat until VA contains 70% of total volume. Upper boundary = VAH, lower = VAL. Handle edge cases where one side runs out of prices before reaching 70%.
Delta profile separates buy volume from sell volume at each price level, showing the imbalance (Delta = Buy - Sell). Strong positive delta at support = genuine buying. Strong negative delta at resistance = genuine selling. This provides deeper insight than total volume alone, revealing which side was aggressive at each level.
Institutional accumulation shows as: Multiple sessions with overlapping Value Areas, POC remaining stable or slowly migrating higher, increasing total volume without proportional price extension. They're building positions without moving price. Eventually breaks out with conviction. Correlate with SGX institutional fund-flow data for confirmation.
Yes. Train classifiers on profile features: POC location relative to prior days, VA width, profile shape metrics, HVN count, IB width. Target: next session direction or profile type. Use predictions to bias approach (rotation vs trend). Feature engineering is crucial - encode profile characteristics as numerical features for the model.
Volume Profile provides the levels; order flow provides real-time confirmation. When price reaches profile level, watch order flow for: Large bid/ask imbalance confirming direction, absorption (large orders being filled without price moving), aggressive buying/selling. This combination gives both context (profile) and timing (flow).
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