Overnight inventory
Volume Profile Analysis glossary · Profile Shapes & Distributions
Definition
The net long-or-short positioning carried into the day session from the overnight (Globex) session. A long overnight inventory increases sell-side pressure at the open; short increases buy-side pressure.
Overnight inventory in plain English
Markets like stock-index futures trade almost around the clock, and 'overnight inventory' is the net bet — more long (betting up) or more short (betting down) — that traders are already holding when the busy daytime session begins. This matters because whoever is holding the crowded side often wants to trim it once the action heats up: if the overnight crowd is heavily long, many will sell to lock in or protect gains, adding pressure downward at the open (and the reverse if they're heavily short). It's like a concert where half the crowd already needs to leave early — you can predict a rush for the exits before the lights even come up.
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