Close

What Is the Close?

The close is a vital piece of information used in day trading across various markets, including stocks, cryptocurrency, and others, to monitor an asset’s performance. Together with the open, high, and low prices, it makes up the OHLC metrics.

In the past, before the emergence of electronic communication networks in 1969, stock exchange trading occurred only during regular market hours, typically from 9:30 am to 16:00 pm for the New York Stock Exchange.

During this period, the performance of assets could be easily distinguished between days, with specific price points indicating the opening and closing of trading, as well as the highest and lowest prices within each day.

Despite the availability of after-hours trading through electronic platforms, the OHLC metrics remain relevant. They are still monitored during regular market hours due to their usefulness in market analysis.

Cryptocurrency exchanges, which emerged alongside cryptocurrencies themselves in the early 2010s, have supported 24/7 trading from the beginning. This is because these platforms operate exclusively online, and the listed assets are operational at all times. However, they still provide OHLC data, often in the form of candlestick charts.

Among the four metrics, traders often consider the close to be the most important. It serves as a standard benchmark for evaluating an asset’s performance across different time periods.