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Market Profile Mastery

NIFTY conventions

Every example uses the same rules, so you can rebuild any profile in this course and get the same levels. The examples come from 266 NIFTY 50 sessions, 1 October 2025 to 30 October 2026, built from 1-minute index data; volume, delta and OI examples use the most-traded NIFTY futures contract of that day.

Session and TPO brackets

Bracket Time (IST) Bracket Time (IST)
A 09:15–09:45 H 12:45–13:15
B 09:45–10:15 I 13:15–13:45
C 10:15–10:45 J 13:45–14:15
D 10:45–11:15 K 14:15–14:45
E 11:15–11:45 L 14:45–15:15
F 11:45–12:15 M 15:15–15:30 (half bracket)
G 12:15–12:45
  • Initial Balance (IB) = the range of A + B, 09:15–10:15.
  • M is a 15-minute half bracket. Give it less weight than a full bracket when you judge the close.
  • Pre-open (09:00–09:15) sets the opening price. It is not part of the profile, but the gap it creates is part of the context.

Row size

The course uses 10 index points per row. In this sample NIFTY's median day range was 204 points and its median IB 115 points, so a normal day is about 20 rows tall and the IB about 11 — readable without hiding structure. Module 2 shows what happens at 5 and 20 points.

Spot index or futures?

Use Instrument Why
TPO profiles, IB, value area, day types NIFTY 50 index Continuous series, no roll, no premium; it is what option strikes reference
Volume profile, delta, footprint, OI NIFTY futures (current month) The index has no traded volume; futures carry real volume and open interest
Comparing the two Subtract the futures premium A futures level sits above the spot level by the day's premium, which shrinks toward zero as expiry nears (about 40 points on 12 May 2026, about 85 on 12 Jun 2026)

Never draw a volume profile on the spot index or compare a futures POC with a spot POC without removing the premium.

Weekly expiry

NIFTY weekly options expire on Tuesday, moved to Monday when Tuesday is a holiday (for example 20 Oct 2025, 2 Mar 2026, 30 Mar 2026, 13 Apr 2026). Expiry-day behaviour is covered in Module 9 and the case library.

How the levels were computed

  • POC = the row with the most TPOs; ties go to the row nearer the middle of the range.
  • Value area = 70% of the day's TPOs, built outward from the POC two rows at a time, on the side with more TPOs first.
  • Range extension = a bracket after B trading at least 15 points beyond the IB.
  • Tail = two or more single-TPO rows at a day's high or low.
  • Closes are the last 1-minute print, so they can differ from NSE's official closing price by a few points.

You can open any date from this course on FNOTrader's Market Profile chart; small differences in levels come from row size and value-area settings, which is itself a lesson (Module 3).

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