What is the previous day high and low?
In one line: The previous day high and low are the highest and lowest prices a market reached during the last full trading day.
The short answer
Before a new day starts, many traders do one simple thing. They mark yesterday's high and yesterday's low.
These two prices are easy to find, the same for everyone, and often react again. Traders shorten them to PDH (previous day high) and PDL (previous day low).
How to mark them
- Switch to a daily chart.
- Find yesterday's candle. Its top wick is the high. Its bottom wick is the low.
- Draw a line at each one.
- Drop to your trading chart, like the 5-minute or 15-minute. The lines stay.
For US stocks, use the regular 9:30 am – 4:00 pm ET session. For futures and forex, the "day" usually runs 5 pm to 5 pm ET, so check how your platform builds its daily candle.
A simple example
Yesterday a stock traded between $118.20 and $121.50.
- Previous day high: $121.50
- Previous day low: $118.20
Today it opens at $120. By 10:30 am it climbs to $121.60, just above yesterday's high. Then a 15-minute candle body closes back at $121.10. Buyers who bought the "breakout" are now trapped. That's one way these levels show up. An illustration, not a forecast.
Why it matters
Yesterday's extremes are where buyers or sellers last gave up. Many stops sit just beyond them. So price often visits them, then either breaks through or turns back.
They also frame the day. Price opening inside yesterday's range often means a calmer day. Opening outside it, with a Gap, often means a busier one.
A common mistake
Treating the line as an exact price. Price can poke a few cents or pips past it and still turn. Think of it as a zone.
And don't treat a wick past the line as a break. Use our body-close rule: only a candle body closing past the level, and staying there, counts. Our guide to liquidity sweeps explains why price so often pokes through first.
The free StructureX chart tool on TradingView marks recent turning points for you, which pairs well with these two lines.
Questions
What does PDH and PDL mean?
Previous day high and previous day low: yesterday's highest and lowest prices.
Do previous day highs and lows work on all markets?
You can mark them on any market. How price reacts varies, so practice on past charts first, like with TradingView bar replay.
Should I include pre-market prices?
Many stock traders use only the regular session, since pre-market volume is thin. Pick one way and stay consistent.
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