Good morning, traders…

During my early days in the market, I treated the first hour of trading like a warm-up lap. 

Grab some coffee, glance at a few charts, maybe throw on a trade if something caught my eye. Half the time, I didn’t even know what I was looking for…

Spoiler Alert: It wasn’t a winning routine…

The longer I traded, the more obvious it became: the first 60 minutes aren’t just “another part of the day.” 

They’re where the foundation for the entire day gets built.

The market doesn’t wait around — it starts telling its story early, and if you’re not paying attention, you’ll miss the cues that set the tone for the rest of the day.

The open is a loud first impression. It’s when overnight emotions hit the tape, big players start tipping their hands, and we start to see whether the day might bring directional strength or chaotic chop.

And the biggest clue during that window? Volume.

In the first 30–60 minutes, I’m watching where real money is showing up. If a stock breaks out on strong volume and holds, that’s strength. If it gaps up, fades quickly, and can’t hold key levels, that’s weakness.

This stuff sounds simple — and it is — but it’s easy to miss if you don’t know what to look for. 

With that in mind, let me show you how to use the first hour of the day to set the tone for the entire session…

What I Watch At The Open

There are a few key signs that help me judge whether the first hour is offering real setups:

— Volume vs. average: Is the volume real or just noise?
— Follow-through: Are breakouts holding, or snapping back fast?
— Market internals: Are the indexes confirming moves, or is everything scattered?
— Clean setups: Are patterns clear and logical, or random and messy?

If you don’t see real volume, real setups, and real follow-through, then forcing trades usually backfires.

But if you do see them, that first hour can give you some of the best risk/reward setups of the entire day.

When you start treating the first hour as a time to listen instead of react, things shift. You’ll take fewer bad trades, and the good ones will feel easier.

Trading’s hard enough already. No need to make it harder by forcing trades while the market is still waking up.

How I Approach The First Hour

Once that bell rings, many traders feel pressure to act right away. If they’re not in a trade by 9:35 a.m., they feel behind.

Simple human nature, the adrenaline is real. But acting without a plan is a recipe for disaster. 

The goal isn’t to be fast — it’s to be disciplined.

You want trades with confirmation, with volume, and with structure. Not random pop-and-drops, not FOMO chases, and definitely not whatever social media is hyping.

Here’s how I break it down:

1. Pre-market Prep
Before the open, I’ve already built a tight watchlist. I know the key levels. I know what kind of action I’m looking for to confirm a setup.

And now, all OMEN members can use my brand-new OMEN Dynamic Watch List, which:

• Auto-identifies high-probability setups based on volume, price action, and key daily levels — no scanning or guesswork required.
• Updates in real time throughout the trading session as conditions change, keeping the most relevant trade ideas front and center.
• Filters out low-quality moves by focusing only on Smart Money stocks with clean setups and meaningful activity.

2. First 5–15 minutes
I usually don’t trade much here unless something is extremely clean. Too many counter-moves that are often reversed later in the morning. 

During this short period, I’m mostly observing:
— Which stocks are attracting real volume?
— Are my watchlist names behaving as expected?
— Are the indexes strong, weak, or mixed?

3. Mid-first hour (9:45–10:15 a.m.)
This is where most of the real opportunities show up. The fake-outs have burned off, and trends start forming. I’m looking for:
— Clean pullbacks
— Strong breakouts
— Reversals off key levels

4. Adjusting Expectations
By 10:00 a.m., sometimes it’s obvious that the day is dead. No volume, no follow-through, lots of fakeouts. That’s not failure — that’s useful information. Sometimes the best trade is staying out.

So, this morning, I suggest you start your day by:

Watching the volume. Watching the levels. And consulting the OMEN Dynamic Watch List. 

Let the market show you where it wants to go. Then follow it — not before.

Happy trading,

Ben Sturgill

P.S. Now that it’s one of the biggest weeks of earnings season, we have the perfect tool to maximize opportunities…

Earnings Edge. 

The same tool that delivered 100 winning trades in a row last season.*

Join Jordan Phee for a LIVE Earnings Edge WORKSHOP — TODAY, May 1 at 10:00 a.m. EST.

Click here to reserve your seat.

*Past performance does not indicate future results