Investing Marketwatch Intraday Kite

Absolute and percentage change from open on Kite

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Change from open on the Kite marketwatch is the LTP minus today’s opening price, expressed in absolute (rupees) and percentage terms. It is distinct from the default day’s change column, which measures vs the previous day’s close.

When change-from-open matters

For an intraday trader, the question is not “how has this stock moved since yesterday” but “how has it moved since the open today”. Two scenarios make the distinction obvious:

Big gap-up open

  • Previous close: Rs 1,000.
  • Open: Rs 1,050.
  • Current LTP: Rs 1,055.
  • Day’s change (vs previous close): +Rs 55, +5.5%.
  • Change from open: +Rs 5, +0.48%.

The day’s change paints a dramatic picture; change-from-open shows that intraday movement is tiny. An intraday momentum trader reads “+5.5%” as a strong day, but “+0.48%” suggests the stock is consolidating at the gap.

Big gap-down with intraday recovery

  • Previous close: Rs 1,000.
  • Open: Rs 950.
  • Current LTP: Rs 980.
  • Day’s change (vs previous close): -Rs 20, -2.0%.
  • Change from open: +Rs 30, +3.2%.

The day’s change shows a red row; change-from-open shows a strong intraday recovery.

Calculation

For any tradable instrument:

  • Absolute change from open = LTP - Today’s open.
  • Percentage change from open = ((LTP - Today’s open) / Today’s open) x 100.

Today’s open is the first traded price during the regular market session (post-pre-open). For Kite, today’s open is read from the NSE / BSE live feed.

Where the field appears

The change-from-open is not always visible by default on the marketwatch row. It is exposed via:

  • Column toggle: Watchlist options menu > column visibility > Change from open.
  • Quote screen: The scrip’s quote screen on the Kite mobile app shows both change-from-previous-close and change-from-open.
  • Market depth panel: On Kite web , the depth panel surrounding metrics may include change-from-open depending on the build.
MetricReference pointBest for
Day’s changePrevious closeInvestor headline
Change from openToday’s openIntraday trend
Change from VWAPVWAP for the dayExecution benchmark
Change from 52-week high / lowLong-term referenceTrend / mean reversion

Gap classification

Day-traders often classify a stock’s open as:

  • Gap up: Open > 1% above previous close.
  • Gap down: Open > 1% below previous close.
  • Flat open: Open within 0.5% of previous close.

For gap-up and gap-down opens, change-from-open is the key intraday metric, because it tells the trader whether the gap is filling or extending.

Limitations

  • Pre-open phase. During pre-open (09:00 to 09:08), today’s open is undefined; the field may show zero or hold the previous close.
  • F&O on weekly expiry. The “open” for a weekly contract is the open on the first day the contract was active, not today’s open, if today is the contract’s first day.
  • Illiquid scrips. If a stock opens with a small trade and then does not trade for hours, today’s open may be artificial.

See also

External references

References

  1. NSE India, Opening session and continuous session methodology, nseindia.com.
  2. Zerodha Support, Change from open column on the marketwatch, support.zerodha.com.
  3. Zerodha Varsity, Gap trading and opening dynamics, zerodha.com/varsity.

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